Fate - Stay Night: Artifice
by Demod20
Summary: On a single change in motive, a different Servant is summoned by Illyasviel Von Einzbern: that Servant, is Archer EMIYA. Armed with knowledge of parallel events of this same even in the 5th Fuyuki Grail War, Archer will do whatever he can in his power to protect Illya and perhaps enable her to survive its deadly path. With deviations, anomalies & old foes, can Illya win this war!
1. A Twist Of Fate

Illyasviel Von Einzbern is ready.

She had been preparing her whole life for this, the Fifth Holy Grail War. While the timing of it couldn't have happened any sooner -what with the last war transpiring only ten years prior- she was confident in what she acquired. The details of this acquisition were a bit uncouth, to her liking, but that's what happens when she wanted only the best of servants. She kept her backup, after all, in a safe place within the Einzbern mansion here in the cold of Germany's mountainous hillsides; but she was confident she got exactly what she desired.

Standing in a hallowed chamber of cobblestone, a single window letting in rays of light shined over an intricate summoning circle. With the intricate lines crossed with copper placeholders, blood enamoring in a semi-circle at the epicenter and red jeweled necklace placed at the center with a silver chain still attached, completing its significance. Believing this to be the summoning catalyst required, she raised a hand out, and began the process, her handmaidens standing nearby to observe the ceremony.

"Let the etchings of silver ignite," She began to chant, her hand emitting a faint glow while the circle thrummed in response. "Ein, the trickle of blood represents the moon for which you're born. Zwei, copper pays the toll for the beckoning of your invitation. Drei, thine crystal becomes the anchor to bring you to the present. Repeat, Ein, Zwei, Drei! Repeat, Ein, Zwei, Drei! Let your presence fulfill this hallow accord; becoming my blade and bring about a divine acquisition for the prize! As Master I command you to come forth!"

Throughout her incantation, the circle thrummed and pulsed with an ominous halo of silver and blue, transforming into a crystalized blaze of crimson flame of mana. Swirling about and roaring with immense pressure, the materialization of the chosen Heroic Spirit happened instantly, thrusting forth in a blast of steam and smoke that filled the chamber, revealing a tall statuesque image that drew a coughing Illya's gaze up to the ceiling.

"I've heard your summoning, and I've arrived at your call," A deep tone breathed out, the broad shoulders wearing a stringed pair of crimson sleeves that matched the hakama worn around the waist, outlining the black form-fitted body armor he bore. Turning around, she'd see he had copper skin, striking white hair, and as his eyes opened, silvery-grey eyes. "I'd assume then that you're my...uh..."

As he looked in his range of sight, he'd see no one there. The surroundings he stood within were foreign to him and the air had a dank, confining atmosphere to it. It felt cold, and he furrowed his brow as he scanned the room without bending his neck. Seeing a pair of white-dressed women with identical complexion and scarlet eyes, he arched a brow with some recognition, "You're...!"

"Ahem!" A voice rang out, giving the Servant a start, stopping stiff as he fathomed the source clearly. "Down here!"

Craning his neck with a shiver, he lurched back as he saw the white-dressed girl. Enamored with no shoes and very little else to cover her snow-white skin, the red- eyed girl glared up at him, the back of her hands resting on her hips with a pointed scowl; it was somehow both endearing and frightening to behold!

"I...see," He stuttered out, trying to recover his dignity and conceal his shock as best as he could. "I take it that...you're my Master, then?"

"Yes," She tersely replied, flipping her hair back with a hand while jutting her hip to the side indignantly. "I take it that you're my Servant, Archer. However, you don't match the profile of what I was expecting; hardly the look of the King of Heroes."

Inside, the Servant balked, taking a step across the summoning circle to get his bearings. Hearing a clink of something metal beneath his boot, he looked down and saw a familiar red crystal. Bending down, he picked up the links of chain and held it up in front of his face, eyes scrutinizing its authenticity. After a few more seconds of awkward silence, he looked to her with a stare that made the Einzbern heir waver in her resolve.

"Where did you get this?" His graveled voice emanated almost dangerously.

"I don't like that tone of yours," Illya replied, frowning at him, crimson marks suddenly manifesting across her neck, wrapping around her jawline and over her broad brow. With her legs, arms and even lines beneath her white dress aglow, she raised a hand with a level of menace that made the man rethink his approach. "Should I have you eat your own boots, or punch yourself in the throat? I'll let you choose your punishment for such insubordination, Servant!"

"J-Just a moment!" He replied, waving the necklace and his free hand as he backed up a couple steps, feeling the proximity of the wall nearing dangerously behind him. "I'm serious! I think you tried summoning someone else and you got the wrong catalyst!"

"Go on," She urged him, feeling less angry but not wanting to show any sign of softening just yet. Something had felt fishy about the scheme of acquiring the Heroic Spirit, Gilgamesh, with such a gaudy piece of jewelry. She had assumed a far more decrepit looking artifact from a museum would've fit the part, but her handmaidens were insistent. Giving a periphery glance, she saw the handmaidens inch backward with one wearing a mask of indifference and the other looking very nervous. "How do you know I got the wrong catalyst?"

"Because you got this from the Tohsaka Mansion, right?" He asked, seeing a widening pair of red eyes and the marks lose their luster. Seeing the tailored Command Seals withdraw, he sighed with relief and stood more erect, walking forward with the necklace in hand. Looking down at her, he inquired with a serious glint in his eyes. "Tell me, how did you get it?"

"That's a good question," Illya replied, turning to look at the pair. "Sella. Leysritt. Please tell the nice spirit the _whole_ story."

After exchanging glances -with Leysritt staring blankly at Sella- the latter finally sighed heavily, and nervously addressed them the tale.

"After insisting she acquires the King of Heroes herself, despite us being in possession of arguably the strongest Servant's catalyst, we did thorough investigation. Finding out through process of elimination and official registry as participants in the prior war, we found that it was none other than Tokiomi Tohsaka. Despite his passing, there was no evidence that his Servant nor its catalyst was lost and more than likely went as inheritance to his heiress, Rin Tohsaka. We attempted to infiltrate the manor and search for the object using a device honed to such artifacts through latent mana signatures; unfortunately, there was...a scuffle," Sella informed with a bead of sweat sliding down her brow across her cheek.

"The mistress of the manor was up late in the night and found us," Leysritt replied nonplussed, leaning her head to Sella. "She panicked and began firing spells. The girl fired spells back, all around us. It was quite unsightly."

"Nonetheless-!" The more mature Homunculus hastened in her explanation, visibly tensing up and gripping the hem of her skirt. "The box that we had discovered was smashed open, and the one thing we could grab was a bright red jewel. I had no idea what the actual artifact looked like, so I could only assume that it was the only thing of worth that meant its authenticity! I humbly apologize for misleading you-"

"Ten laps around the castle," Illya replied, dismissing her with a wave of her hand. "That's your punishment."

"R-Really?" She asked, almost disappointed that her young mistress hadn't punished her more severely.

"What's done is done, and now I know the truth. Also, Leysritt will carry you, since you're not that strong but you won't wear a coat," She added, making Leysritt wince ever-so slightly. Sella grinned a bit more, finding that she wasn't alone in her punishment. A clap later and the two hurried off, the sound of bickering echoing the hall once they were far enough away. Turning away, she sighed, looking up with disappointment at the red-black cloaked man. "I'm sorry I put so much faith in such clumsy subordinates. I hope you won't disappoint me in the same way."

"Uncouth, as it may have been, I can't deny that you're my Master when all is said and done," The white-haired man replied, handing her the necklace with a semblance of a smile. "But you should keep this under better wraps. Something tells me that because they left in such a hurry, its owner might want you to back with severe interest."

Her eyes briefly twinkled at the sight of genuine recognition. She hadn't been affirmed in a positive light other than her teacher, Sella, and from the distant past her mother Irisviel. Taking the necklace, she looked at it thoughtfully before palming it into her hand, determining to not lose it. Looking back up, she'd see his face returned to its cagey and stony exterior, masking his intentions from her sight.

"Well, if you aren't the King of Heroes, who are you exactly?" Illya asked pointedly.

"I dunno."

"WHAT do you MEAN by you DUNNO?!" She cried out in an instant shrill that made the Servant grimace with discomfort. Balling her fists, she waved her arms out with childish anger. "I summoned you perfectly! You should know exactly who you are! Don't lie to me, or else-!"

"H-Hold on, I'm just a bit frazzled is all!" He exclaimed, not wishing to invoke the sight of the brands on the girl's body. The mere sight of them chilled his phantasmal spine at the power and invocation's efficiency in putting out commands on his being. With a wave of his hand for emphasis, he explained with a dodgy look in his eyes. "I'll remember it in time, I just need to get more acclimated with your mana is all."

"Fine," She huffed, pouting her lips as she frowned up at him. "Three days."

"Pardon?" He questioned with fright.

"That's how long you have to remember your name. If not, then I shall force feed you your pants. And after that, your coat. And after that, your boots. And after you're out of clothing, I'll have Leysritt rip them out so you can do it all over again," She threatened a bit too calmly, her arms crossing her chest and her body turned to walk away from him. With her eyes looking over her shoulder, she asked coldly much to the Servant's dismay. "Is that a problem, Servant?"

"...no," He replied, finding his throat dry and his eyes looking helplessly at the girl.

"Good!" She whipped her head around, making her hair swish around as she pitter-patted her feet down the cold cobblestone floor down the dark corridor of the castle. "I'm going to get something to eat. Once I'm done, I want you to showcase your abilities to me firsthand on the castle grounds. If you aren't up to my expectations, I'll make you clean the whole castle's roofing with your tongue. See you in fifteen minutes."

* * *

The Heroic Spirit, EMIYA, felt like this was the worst case scenario. He had been summoned into the 5th Holy Grail War by none other than Illyasviel Von Einzbern. From his myriad of infinite encounters he's had with the girl she was both a victim and a terror in the conflict that sheared through Fuyuki of every timeline. While he was wary of her childish, borderline psychotic mood swings he was also in the bind of being emotionally compromised when it came to this specific girl.

She was, as EMIYA remembered, the one person he couldn't save in the war before he sacrificed his humanity to be a hero, years later. Murdered by Gilgamesh or Kirei Kotomine or had died from some other unknown, she was always coming short despite being armed to the teeth in literal and figurative sense. When it came to potential of mana and magical prowess, she had few rivals in this era of mages participating in the Fuyuki Grail War; he could feel a dramatic increase in strength and prowess just by being connected to her, with more potential than he could fathom.

Drawn to the slow snowfall of the outside, the Heroic Spirit observed the serene beauty of the barren landscape of white that was dotted with trees occupying the hillsides roamed as far as the eye could see. Turning to look at a purple fur coated Illya not far away, she was watching with hands in her coat's pocket, smiling in a way that intimidated him as her ruby eyes sparkled with expectation.

"Pull!" Sella cried out, causing Leysritt to hurtle a discus into the air with ease, its movement moving faster than even a rocket propelled grenade towards the horizon.

Letting it get a kilometer away, Archer summoned his black bow of nameless origin and summoned what looked like a rapier with an elegant cage-guard of gold and a crown-shaped pommel. Contorting the blade till the cage twisted in a serpentine spiral at its back and the blade becoming more of a corkscrew, he notched the back of the weapon's hilt and pulled back the string till it reached past his cheek. A breath in, a hissing exhale out, a breath in and then, he opened both eyes, letting loose the weapon in a blast of mana that blasted snow and air around him in a shock of force.

Illya watched with marveling awe as the rapier became a bolt of blue light, streaking across the sky and blowing past the gentle snowfall dotting the clouded vista of her homeland. As the discus began to dip ever-so slightly into the distance, the projectile arched in perfect accordance, smashing the skeet into powder before the weapon exploded in the distance. Shaking her head, she looked over at the confirmed Archer Servant and looked at him expectantly.

"That was a two kilometer shot. Is my range not satisfactory?" The Servant asked, knowing he could fire from a lot farther if beckoned.

"Shooting far is fine, but what about multiple targets?" She queried, her countenance gaining an innocence to it she hadn't displayed apart from her annoyingly immature punishments.

"I can fire up to a two dozen salvo indiscriminately at the same number of targets or converge all in one, be they standing still or moving at high speed," He boasted coolly, grinning as he wiped some snow on his red sleeved shoulder, still holding the bow with his other hand at his side. "Sniping is a special ability of mine, and I'd prefer I take enemies off guard or use the chaos my Master would set upon them as proper support."

"You're not going to freeze up on me like a dork, are you?" Illya questioned with a tilt of her head, an eye closed and a subdued huff of attitude.

Wryly grinning, he put his free hand on a hip and arched his own neck dubiously at her, "What's wrong? Scared that I might abandon my sweet, defenseless Master to the enemy?"

"I'm not scared of anything!" She snapped, her face puffed up and her eyes glaring humorously at him. "And you shouldn't ever leave me alone! You're my Servant, after all, so a Master should always be watched by their Servant! Do I need to place a Command Seal on you to make sure your thick head doesn't forget that?!"

"That should go without saying," He replied, feeling a bit more assured of himself that the threat was more idle this time. "It's my duty to fight, bleed and die for you. The last thing I'd ever do is abandon someone as precious as you; fate will have to go through me before anyone gets their hands on you."

For a moment, Illya's soured mood vanished and her eyes twinkled once again with a gleam that struck a chord in the Servant's core. Moisture accumulated in her eyes and her mouth was agape. He wasn't sure but she seemed to be...crying? Whatever the case was, she quickly blushed and wiped her eyes with a spare sleeve as she sniffed noisily before she spoke again.

"Idiot! What if someone catches you at close quarters and I'm nearby. How can you fire your arrows with a swordsman or a spearman coming after me?"

Her questions were educated and thoughtful, earning a measure of respect from EMIYA. It was true, in some situations, Archer Class Servants were especially weak against any other Heroic Spirit in a different designation. Technically even an Assassin could kill an Archer if they got the drop on them without an escape plan or means of fighting unarmed to compensate for the lack of a bow to use appropriately.

"In that case," He replied, dispersing the bow in an azure pulse of mana, waving both hands readily to the demure Magus. "Then I'd simply rely on my Magecraft to compensate."

"You're a Magus too?" She blinked owlishly, a hint of a smile working its way onto her face at the prospect. "Show me!"

"If you want me to, I can show you a few basic stances and the weapons I have. Unfortunately I don't have an adept sparring partner on hand to give you a taste of what I'm capable of," Archer replied with a flavorful sigh of faux disappointment.

Palming a fist, Illya's inner light bulb sparked and her eyes sparkled as a gleeful grin worked its way onto her face, "I see what you mean! Hey, how about you fight Leysritt?!"

"Excuse you?" Archer asked, almost in sync with Sella who stood not far away with the named Homunculus that stared blankly at them with a sense of curiosity. Looking between all three of them, he smiled with bemusement, shrugging his arms in dismissal. "Forgive me Master, but while I have confidence that your maids are capable attendants, I doubt they can stand up to a Heroic Spirit like myself."

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Leysritt asked, earning a worried look from Sella.

"Go ahead," EMIYA raised a finger, curling it in a come hither gesture as he smiled with amusement at her. "Try and keep up."

Leysritt bent down, brushing some of the snow away and hefted up a giant halberd, intricate crimson markings etched onto the blade, spike and flat of the large weapon. A quick visual examination of the weapon told Archer that this was a strong weapon, exemplifying more toughness than sharpness; wagering that it can easily withstand trauma by Noble Phantasms sent her way. Holding it with both hands, she spun it around over her head, kicking up the snow and billowing around her vicinity in a twister of ice and wind, urging Sella to withdraw and set up a Bounded Field around herself and Illya.

Readying a hand into the air, he swept the space in front of him and used Projection, forming a glow light a little over a meter in length. Catching the weapon, it'd solidify into the smooth handled yin colored blade, Kanshou, catching it in a upright grip before he spun it around in a blur of metal. In an instant, he leaped forward, visibly disappearing from the air and reappearing behind Leysritt just over her head.

Twisting around in response, she struck his blade with the flat of her halberd, the shock of her swing causing EMIYA's arm to spasm and his body to be flung back from the tantamount strength she carried. Grinding across the ground, the Counter Guardian looked up with surprise, seeing she had barely moved from her posture; baiting him to attack her once again.

" _She's surprisingly strong, for a Homunculus. I guess that's what I get for underestimating the quality of the Einzbern's artificial human creation,_ " He concurred, standing upright and brushing some of the snow on his coat's shoulder. Grinning, he swept his other hand around, projecting Bakuya in his other hand. Bending his knees, he charged, moving in a red blur straight into Leysritt's frontal flank with a crash of both weapons against her pole handle. Seeing that he pushed her back with the force he implemented this time, he twisted his weapons around, slashing towards her face and lower side; only for her to spin her weapon in a clockwise fashion and deflect both swords.

Twisting about she landed a roundhouse kick into a blocking right arm, making his two blades fly up into the air out of his grip. Grinding his teeth as he felt his arm bruise from the boot's sole, he forced himself to a stop and watched her begin a hurtling spin towards him like a murderous top. Backpedaling, he raised his hands as the halberd drew nearer with the buckling vortex of air pressure, catching the weapons as they returned to his hand once again, crashing them against her blade in a deflecting burst of force.

"You're not bad," Archer remarked with a wry grin, his two blades sparking in their catch of the halberd's broad ax edge; part of which dug into his two swords nearly halfway. "A Homunculus with this caliber of strength should be commended."

"Of course, I am after all a servant of Illyasviel Von Einzbern," She replied stoically in her doll-like placid manner. Pulling back in a grinding twist, she rend his weapons from his grip and shattered their remains in a single flurry. Rearing back, she thrust the pike's edge to stab Archer through the chest, replying aloud with confidence. "If this level is too much for you, then you're not worthy of being her Servant."

A flash of mana, an incomprehensible sound coming from his mouth and suddenly a new Kanshou parried the pike of the weapon away, allowing the Servant to slide up close and hold a reformed Bakuya to her neck. While her eyes flashed wide with surprise, she didn't emote anything else. Casting a glance at the smashed remains in her periphery, she saw the pair of swords vanished into the snow-laden wind, allowing her to deduce what had happened.

"Your Magecraft is Projection. Impressive to see a Conjurer have this adept level of reflexes and strength, let alone retain the Archer Class," She remarked evenly.

"I'm a man of many talents, and some are left best to be seen for yourself," He winked at the artificial human, withdrawing his weapons and dispersing them back into floating dust of mana. "I trust that little demonstration satisfies you."

"For now," Leysritt answered in her usual monotone, erecting the weapon and turning to look at Illya with Archer. "Is that good enough?"

"Sure! You can go back to your duties, Leysritt!" She replied cheerfully, looking to Sella and nodding to her. Watching the handmaiden nullify the Bounded Field, she hummed as she skipped over to her Servant while Leysritt passed her by and walked back with her other caretaker back into Castle Einzbern. Spinning around, Illya looked up with a beaming grin, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm that made the Servant's heart warm at seeing. "That was great! Leysritt is really strong, and you were so fast! Those are cool swords you have! And was that swift incantation?!"

"Oh, you noticed that?" He asked pointedly, placing a hand behind his head as he scratched his scalp nervously. "Here I thought I was careful. Guess nothing gets past my Master, after all."

"Mhm, I am a top of the line Master!" Illya cocked her chin up, posturing proudly with hands her hips and a close-eyed broad smile on her face. "You'll not find a better Magus in this Grail War, that's for sure! Ho-Ho-Ho!"

"That's for sure," He admitted with a sheepish chuckle, inwardly kicking himself for speaking such a way when he knew an excellent Mage would could be a superb candidate as his Master. Still, he knew as far as power and skill went, Illya had no second in this upcoming conflict; he just need to ensure that she could put that strength of hers to the test.

Taking another furrowed glance, Illya took a step and angled her head up at Archer. Walking around in a circle about the man, he arched a brow as he looked back at her, over his shoulder as she circled him. When she finished with a stomping twirl, she crossed her arms behind her back and looked up blankly at him. It was unnerving this new change in mood, but he figured this must have been slightly related to the topic of testing him.

"I'm sure that you don't like the idea of waiting three days for me to reveal my identity to you, Master," EMIYA guessed, earning a glint of brief surprise that turned into a hardened glare of affirmation. Sighing, the Counter Guardian scratched his cheek and looked towards the forest nearby; for some reason, it looked like a pleasant place and was peaceful, an instinct that had compelled him not to mark it during his demonstration. Smiling, he knelt down before her, bringing his gaze to be eye level with her petite height. "How about I tell you what I know about myself while we take a walk down the path by those trees over there?"

Illya looked over at the trees and instantly the Heroic Spirit felt a pit form in his stomach. The pale-faced girl's eyes dilated, her mouth parted and her countenance changed into one of somber sorrow. He couldn't fathom what memories stirred within her mind, or the past she had. Was it part of what happened with Kiritsugu Emiya's relationship with the Einzbern Family?

"Sorry," The Servant apologized, standing up and walking past her towards the snow-covered path to the castle. "We should talk inside anyways. It's quite cold out here-"

He felt himself halted by a tug on his right arm's sleeve. His face construed into shock as he looked down to see a hidden expression on Illya's face, turned away from him, but a finger and thumb clenched at his jacket's fabric faintly. Keeping still, he didn't say anything, just letting her hold onto the sleeve as the snow gently fell onto their clothes and his uncovered hair.

"I don't mind," She faintly spoke, her face turned away, as if to hide her fear and anguish that she had masked thus far. "B-But I'd prefer if you carried me. On your shoulders."

Smiling ruefully, he knew this was the first time she issued out a request instead of a command. This was a special subject, as this part of her home brought sensitive memories of her own; something they both seemed to have in common.

Bending down, he lifted her up without saying a word, earning a crying gasp before she was fully hefted up. Looking up, his wry smile still intact, he'd see the awestruck look on her face turned to one of childish wonderment. Tears formed in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks as she beamed gladly. He felt his head grasped -almost painfully- by her small hands, not bothering to wipe away the excess moisture sliding warmly down her face.

Walking down the path, Archer gave a slight periphery glance as the handmaidens watched his movement with his Master saddled on his shoulders. He couldn't read Leysritt's expression, but he could see a mixed reaction from Sella, the mentor figure of the pair. Dispersing their watching of him from his mind, he relaxed and let the sound of his boots crunch lightly on the snow. Looking around, he'd see the type of trees were an exotic type, specially planted for this courtyard of the Einzbern Castle; hints of blossoms beginning to form in this light season of the ever-present winter hold on this area of the country.

"So, how old are you?" Illya first asked, almost making Archer stumble in his walk at such an odd query.

"Uh, I don't know how relevant that is, Master. I'm very dead by this point, barring the Grail's manifestation of this form-"

"No-No-No," Illya wagged a finger, now back to her chastising self as she looked around his crown at the left side of his face, his eye glancing back at her red eyes gleaming with intrigue and mischief. "I mean, how old do you think you are as of this moment?"

"Tch, I'd say I'm in my late thirties, give or take," Archer replied with a click of his tongue, closing his other eye while the other just stared at her dubiously. "I've forgotten such a detail long ago, so forgive me if it isn't to the letter of accuracy."

"Fiiiiiiiine~," She drawled out, looking over at a nearby Walnut Blossom, bringing a nostalgic glitter to her eyes and a slight smile before she shook her head back to the present. "Ok, why do you shoot swords from a bow? You seem like an OK swordsman, so it seems like an odd thing to be both an archer and a melee fighter."

"Ha! It's because I can catch my enemies off guard if they think getting up close makes me helpless," He replied with gusto, looking ahead as he answered her in a way that was truthful and fanciful. "Imagine most Archer Class Servants being drawn up close or stuck in a boxed in environment. How likely will their supplementary abilities enable them to escape or fight evenly with someone like a Berserker or a Saber? I may excel at long-range combat, but I've made sure to master the blade so I can also match steel with the best of melee specialists.

"As for why I use swords for arrows, which isn't always, is so I can modify an effect akin to a Noble Phantasm," He further explained, drawing Illya into a wide-eyed look of awe and interest; only briefly looking back to check if he was doing a good job explaining. "See, my Magecraft is Conjuration, and with it I can make faux weapons that copy the effect of other Heroic Spirits' Noble Phantasms. It's my special ability."

"That makes sense, sorta," Illya replied, scrunching her face up as she tried to fathom what he was saying in the latter half of his answer to her question. "So, you say you make fake phantasms. Can you make any one of them at full strength?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity of using True Magic, so my replication will always be inferior to the original," He confessed, though not allowing himself to dwell on it for fear of disappointing his small Master. "However, I make up for it by adding Reinforcement to it and, for additional bonus, craft what is called a Broken Phantasm."

"Broken Phantasm?" She asked, almost with a knowing expression.

"Yes, it sounds like you have an inkling of what I'm saying," He reaffirmed with a nod, turning his head to look at hers. "Any Heroic Spirit has the capacity of overcharging their own legendary weapons or abilities to the point of 'breaking' them, hence the name. Because I'm creating a false Noble Phantasm, I can initialize a Broken Phantasm effect that turns it into a volatile blast that dramatically raises its destructive ability. And since I'm an Archer-"

"You can keep using them without worrying of running out of arrows!" Illya finished with excitement, grasping onto his words -and his scalp, much to his chagrin- as she figured out what he was getting at.

"Correct, Master," Archer replied with a wincing chuckle. "Naturally, I rather fire those kinds of projectiles from a distance and make sure you're not close to its blast radius. However, if its simply a blade in my hand, I shouldn't run the same risk, but it does burn up mana regardless. Plus there's usually a time to trigger such a use, so anyone up close will make things difficult for me to rely on such a tactic repeatedly without an enemy seeing through it."

Nodding her head, she understood what he was saying, processing the information for later practice and implementation in future strategies. Unlike other Classes she saw that the Archer Servant was best used through planning and innovative craftiness in outmaneuvering more brute strength and one-note enemies. It was a dexterous Class, trading out sheer power for a plethora of means of taking down an enemy without doing a linear line of attack.

However, something bothered her. Apart from the lack of a name to properly identify him, there was something his explanations that negated to reveal something personal to not just incarnation as a Heroic Spirit, but the embodiment of what he was. Her eyes narrowed, her tongue licking her slightly chapped lips as she pondered how to ask this question. Releasing her hold on his hair, she moved it down to his hands, surprising the Servant as she squeezed them as she asked what she knew was probably an intimate question.

"Archer, do you have a Noble Phantasm of your own?" She began to ask, feeling him stop moving in the middle of the snow-covered trees surrounding them on either side. "If you don't, I won't complain. But, judging by that reaction, it sounds like you do. Can you show me?"

"Are you sure you want that, Master?" He asked, his voice sounding quiet and grated in its tone. It was the question he knew that would be asked one way or another. He wished personally that he could avoid it entirely, but a Master with such impressive array of Command Seals combined with his own attachment with her, it was next to impossible to deny such a order. But, like earlier, this was a request and was a departure from her usual bossy nature that made him halt entirely.

But when she said, "I do," he inhaled, and let loose a heavy sigh.

" **I Am The Bone Of My Sword.** "

As he began to chant, a blue flame emerged all around the snow covered grounds, engulfing the trees and frost covered soil in the burning tongues of the ether. Nothing melted and nothing caught aflame in the traditional sense, but the potency of the mana being exuded drew misty exhales from Illya, her eyes wide and her face looking around as she felt the magic ripen all around her. The prana being emitted made her spine tingle and her gut prick at the sense of dread that was being brought forth into the physical world.

" **Steel Is My Body And Fire Is My Blood.** "

" **I Have Created Over A Thousand Blades.** "

" **Unknown To Death, Nor Known To Life.** "

" **Have Withstood Pain To Create Infinite Weapons.** "

" **Yet These Hands Will Not Hold Anything.** "

" **So As I Pray, Unlimited Blade Works!** "

The world bent and warped, a flash of light overwhelmed Illya's vision as a ring of fire spread from the Servant's outward, seemingly eradicating everything around him in a single motion. She felt dizzy, her insides felt nauseous and the air felt hot. Grimacing as the flare subsided, she winced her eyes open and then, she saw the change to the environment; no, not a change, but a transformation itself!

Surrounded by a hill-adorned field of sand, swords, spears, axes and more were impaled into the ground in the thousands. Too many to count, they lingered on into the horizon, emblazoned with fire with a sky covered in clouds that crackled with blood tinted lightning. Even more imposing, if not foreboding, was the enormous gears and cogs, all moving in synchronization with echoing churns of metal on metal, forever moving in an infinite motion that churned its machine parts in this conceptual world.

"A Reality Marble," She gasped, her senses picking up every facet of the horizon and the immediate surroundings.

"That's right," He answered her, somberly as he fixed his sight on this world of his. "This is my power as a Heroic Spirit. It's the only thing I possess that I can call my own, and it embodies me completely."

Gripping his hands tightly, Illyasviel softly spoke back, "It looks lonely. Did you die alone, Archer?"

"Yes," He croaked out, shutting his eyes tightly, the loud sound of clanking gears filling his mind and visions of his existence flooded to his foresight. Blood in abundance, shed by his hands. His own death, betrayed by the hands he sought to save. Wars ended, wars prevented and wars provided all for the sake of justice. Even as the despair clawed at his mind, he forced it away, putting him back into the present, stonily asking the girl sitting on his shoulders. "Does this satisfy you, Master? Is this Nameless Servant's Noble Phantasm worthy for you?"

"I think it's exactly what I need," She replied, her own voice quiet and thoughtful, showing maturity only possibly obtained after the Hell of an existence she had in the past ten years. The isolation, the knowledge she was born only for a singular purpose, one that'd satisfy the Einzbern Family. Abandoned, forgotten and ignored, she was only a tool and was only provided with the means of achieving victory for the sake of satisfying that goal; a goal of dead men that used her life in exchange.

After soaking in the atmosphere a bit longer, Archer dismissed the artificial world, revealing the place they once were standing was completely unaffected by the supernatural phenomena. As they walked away, Illya began to hum a tune, a song that Archer didn't know but could follow its melody quite adequately. As she hummed, he felt himself relax and smile halfway, joining her own innocent grin as they walked back up the castle stairs through the front entrance.

* * *

It only took a week for Archer to get fully acquainted with his Master and her two servants. Finding a relatively consistent schedule -helped by Stella's rigorous discipline she hammered into the young Lord of the Castle- he found that Leysritt made a good sparring partner while changing up melee practice to shooting at a variety of ranged targets, changing it up in pattern and distance so Illya could formulate more strategies once they leave for their castle in Fuyuki.

After using a privately owned plane, the handmaidens and Servant accompanied Illyasviel to her estate set in view of the nostalgic town; for different reasons for either Master and Servant. Through multiple realities, Archer has seen various outcomes and experienced them firsthand in often grisly degree. Through this and the preemptive knowledge of the Grail, he was given perfect clarity of everything of the town, down to its layout and the people that lived within it. This was knowledge he ensured to log away and use at his discretion when applicable for the war to come.

The Fuyuki Einzbern Castle was just about as spacious and regal as the last. While it needed a bit of tidying up -something he was ordered to do with the handmaidens, much to his chagrin- it was still in relatively pristine condition since the previous war a decade prior. The grounds were layered with booby traps of old and now newer nature, thanks to Sella and Illya's efforts, making it that much harder to enter undetected let alone unscathed without knowing the path to leave properly.

Departing into the city, Illya acted surprisingly carefree as Archer disguised himself in mana form, ghosting near her as she maneuvered around the city.

" **You sure you put enough traps, Master?** " Archer inquired, having busied himself most of the day during the familiarizing of the Fuyuki Estate owned by the Einzbern Family. Above having a strategically isolated stronghold with beautiful architecture and Bounded Fields to reinforce it from sniping, artillery and other more mystical attacks she had busied herself refurbishing existing traps left awry in the prior decade of idling and set up new ones. The sheer number she and Sella laid was...absurd.

" **If I had more time, I could make more than what I have, but I'll settle with the seven hundred and fifty one that I have now** ," Illyasviel replied, keeping her words telepathic as to not alert passer biers or potential familiars of masters that have settled in this playground of the Grail. Walking down the street, the white haired girl took a tour of Fuyuki's shopping district, maintaining a positive air while observing everything around her and taking in the bustling atmosphere. At night, the city would be relatively barren in the outer ring of suburban housing and other warehouse districts with only downtown having an amicable drive of traffic moving.

But she wasn't looking just at the town itself. No, she was here for a specific purpose and she was looking for a specific person. Humming idly as she hopped and skipped across the sidewalk and crossed streets, she eventually came upon a particular set of ritzy looking living places that was inserted into the suburban living area. One of which was the Tohsaka Mansion, which she could feel her Servant breathing down her neck about how risky it was being so close to somebody of adept perception and skill as a Magus. Down the road was the Matou Mansion, which gave the girl an unnerving feeling as the sound of bugs chirping -even in the mid-afternoon- unsettled her. Lastly was the alleged Emiya Manor, which was stylized out of a feudal aged mansion mostly comprised out of wood and paper.

Tracing her fingers along its wooden surface, she grinned to herself, a glimmer of crimson emanating from her eyes.

"I've found you, Big Brother," She whispered, giving EMIYA an extreme amount of discomfort for how she phrased her word choice. "It's time you find that you can't escape me like father did."

Turning her head around, she saw in the distance the certain red-head coming down the street with a book bag slung over his shoulder. Smiling, she skipped ahead till she conveniently found a crack in the road in front of the Emiya mansion. Stepping into it, she let herself fall onto her face, crying out as she did so. Archer balked, not sure what came over her until the sight of Shirou Emiya rushing to her sprawled form made him recoil in horror.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" Shirou asked, his eyes widened with alarm and his hands placed delicately on Illya's shoulders.

"Owwwwwwwwwww," She moaned, pushing herself up with effort, revealing a cut that formed over her forehead, bleeding over her face in a hilarious exaggeration to how much it hurt her part-homunculus body. "I'm...dizzy...why are there so...many of you?"

"Oh shit!" Shirou swore, finding the white hair girl lurch forward into his arms, visibly showing signs she fell unconscious. Nervously, he picked her up and dropped the bag right outside the mansion. Picking her up in a bridal fashion, he finagled the gate before hurrying her inside. Crossing the grounds, Illya snuck a peek at the surroundings: a serene tile-roofed set of buildings with a calm old-style japanese pond garden and paths circling around trees and fields of well trimmed grass. As he brought her to the main house, he immediately frantically pulled open the paper doors and got her to the guest room, laying her down gently, laying her prostrate over the mattress. "Alright, you ok?"

"Nnngh," She groaned, restlessly moving on the bed. "It hurts! Owwwwwww!"

"Geez, let me get the first aid kit," He replied, walking away to find something to salve her injury and provide covering. As he left her, Illya smiled to herself at how easy it was to fool the adopted son of Kiritsugu. Even though she had researched preemptively about the details of her estranged parent, especially how he acquired a new child to replace her, she had no idea just how much of a positive force he'd be to immediately worry about the well-being of a clumsy stranger who fell in front of his home.

Once he returned, he delicately washed and absorbed the blood on her face and head, noticing the bump with the cut was more shallow than he thought. Shaking his head, he began applying medicine, making Illya groan -albeit with exaggerative flair- that he winced at trying to help her while she squirmed. Wrapping the bandage around her head in a snug fit, he sighed, taking a few moments to observe her lying form. Her purple coat and the fur-adorned hat looked foreign, yet she had an air of familiarity he couldn't quite pin down for some reason; apart from the dirt of her fall, she looked regally dressed, so why was she in front of his home?

Feeling his gaze look at her face a bit hard, Illyasviel did her best not to show any sign of being aware of his sight. As he got up to leave, she ruefully smirked at his trust in this stranger he took in. Opening her eyes she let her scarlet rings observe every facet of this room, giving her the impression this would be a place she'd stay if she were to live here. It was a cozy place that was easily the size of most comfortable living spaces spread around Fuyuki's suburban areas, with blue-white walls and ceiling, bookshelves and other cabinets with a smooth flooring. With a window that let in the setting Sun's light in, she felt almost safe in such a place.

Then, she felt Archer's voice ping in her head in a rude way, " **Master, what in the Hell are you doing here?** "

" **Fulfilling my ulterior agenda,** " She replied with a thin smile, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she folded her hands on her coat-covered waist. " **While I may be fighting in this war, I wanted to have a little fun distracting myself before the festivities truly begin. After all, I'm not content in just acquiring the holy chalice, but also resolve an old part of my past needing closure.** "

" **With all due respect, Master, I think this is a hazard to our plans,** " He replied, unseen but left a tone in her head akin to a grimacing glare. " **That boy is going to be the death of you if you let odd people distract you. What does he even mean to someone like you?** "

" **He's my father's son,** " She replied, making EMIYA contort invisibly with shame and regret. With a retraction of her smile to one of a blank, cold stare at the ceiling, she continued. " **I'm going to give him a taste of the same despair when the comfort and happiness he feels here is torn away by horrors he couldn't comprehend. Once I'm satisfied, then I'll leave him broken and unable to go on living as he is. I haven't decided his fate just yet, but fate made this reunion possible so why not dwell just a bit in the illusion of our bond just a bit?** "

" **If you want to spend your time torturing this man, I won't argue, but just know that this boy will more than likely put a stick into the cog of our plans,** " Archer warned her, before once again whisking himself out of potential awareness of the undercover mage that Shirou Emiya is.

The sounds of other people entering the home drifted into guest room's space. A faint, quieter voice spoke pleasantly as a crescendo of kitchen utensils and items were being worked upon by more than one person. Vague conversations were made and Illya got a distinct feeling it was a personal conversation. Without making a sound, she yanked a thread of her hair and shaped it with her prana, animating it into a silver-white effigy of a spider about as big as her hand. Tossing it up into the ceiling, the mana fed string led its near invisible familiar so it could crawl along the ceiling of the room and stealth its way into the opposing hallway; closing her eyes, she'd link her senses with it, allowing her to pick up the dim hallway and the brightly lit kitchen and living room area.

A beautiful girl of violet hair and amethyst eyes had an apron adorned around her school uniform, her coat already hung up on a hangar near the entryway to the exit door of deep purple along with her outdoor black shoes. She looked like any other plain girl had it not been for the faint traces of prana ebbing from her that the homunculus girl could see through her spider-construct. It was similar in hue to Shirou, being it either out of inefficiency or suppression, so she couldn't get a read if she was a strong Magus or not.

However, the conversations being had made her grin with devious mischief.

"I noticed the blood on the outside of the mansion," Sakura finally broke the ice, making Shirou grimace at the memory of such a grisly sight. Looking over with a cagey expression, she got a troubled look on the red-haired man, making her ease up and look at him with concern. "What happened? That wasn't you-?"

"No, it wasn't me, Sakura!" He exclaimed, chuckling a bit bashfully as if knowing full well it wasn't out of the question to think that. "It was this...strange girl that hit her head in front of my place."

"Girl?" She asked, her eyes going cold and her bangs lowering to hide her thoughts. "What did she want?"

"I don't know, she hit her head pretty bad and she looked lost," Shirou answered nonplussed, gesturing with his head towards the dark hallway he hadn't bothered illuminating with lights just yet. "She's really small though. I can't say she's close to my age, but maybe that's just her genetics?"

Almost as if breathing a sigh of relief, Sakura inquired more innocently as she helped prepare dinner with knife in hand, "Is she a foreigner?"

"How did you-" Shirou stopped himself, causing the meek girl to laugh at that. Blushing himself, he shook his head and added sauce to the meal ready to be stewed. "Yeah, she's got like this odd white hair like snow and I think she had red eyes. She might be an albino or something. And she was wearing this thick purple fur coat."

"Sounds like something that came out of a fairy tale book," Sakura teased with a small smile, fixing her hair as she shuffled the vegetables with the cutlery.

"I don't know what compelled her to be in my neighborhood, though. We may live close due to our unique living arrangements but we're not exactly on a common suburban street," He mentioned, his voice quieting a little as he looked back at the hallway again, his face becoming a bit more contemplative. "I can't help but feel she's important to me, but I know I've never seen her before."

Before he could ponder aloud any further, the sound of the door slamming open followed a rambunctious noise of a brown haired woman stumbling in. Undoing her puffy jacket, the landlady and unofficial guardian of the house, something Illya instinctively identified by how she invited herself in so rudely and presumptuously. The conversation wasn't as interesting as before, and she only got to know so much before she grew bored. Recalling her familiar for later use, she pulled the covers up and tried to enter something akin to sleep.

As her eyes closed, darkness came over her consciousness and a cold chilling wave swept over her. A haunting echo permeated her being, like a drop of liquid falling into a basin of immeasurable quantity. The dripping continued, and her being felt like tremors flowed outward, her eyes adjusting to the dark as she realized the dripping came from above. A halo of ethereal flame wrapped around a sphere of endless darkness, dripping blood over an ocean of metallic smelling essence; one of which presided within her open chest with the outline of a golden cup siphoning the liquid she lied weightlessly in.

Eyes opened with a start, with sweat accumulating across her skin, she realized that sleep may not be the best thing to do in a stranger's home; not just yet.

Still, she heard the sounds outside of animated discussion involving the three people occupying the house. Part of her wanted to sneak outside and avoid contact, wanting Shirou Emiya to speak to her alone so she'd avoid scrutiny. That way, she would have an untainted image of herself that couldn't be argued or dissected by those familiar in his immediate vicinity. But on the other hand, the benefits of selling her narrative to all three proved too beneficial to simply ignore.

Exiting the room, she quietly stepped out and entered the dark hallway, emerging around the corner to peer into the floor-level table of the dining room. Shirou sat on the far side, his back facing the kitchen while Sakura had her back in her direction. The unidentified woman of brown hair sat on the floor opposing Shirou, enthusiastically talking with bravado and cheer, almost to the point of annoying the white-haired girl. With a deep inhale, she entered the room with a rehearsed mask of pitiable shyness, drawing Shirou and the older woman's attention right away; with Sakura blinking a few times before looking over at the coat-adorned girl with surprise.

"Oh, hello there!" The adult woman spoke with a cheery grin, making the red-haired man flush a bit at her unabashed tone as she waved her in. "Come on, sit with us! I've been dying to know more about you!"

"I-I'm sorry for intruding," Illya pitifully exclaimed, her voice quiet and her eyes looking down apologetically as she remained in place. "I-It was my own fault that I was so c-clumsy. P-Please, I just want to apologize and be on my w-way-"

"Nonsense!" The older woman insisted, standing upright far more quickly than the guest thought possible and sliding over to her side. Hands on her shoulders, she gently ushered her over to where she was sitting, scooting around to the free space of the low-table and began scooping up more helpings of the lukewarm food onto her old plate. "Please, dig in! I've already eaten and you must be starving, being cooped up in that bed for so long."

It only just occurred to Illya that she may have been in the bedroom for a longer period of time than she conceived. Was she so lost in thought or did her nightmare take up the span of time she didn't account for? Dispelling the eerie feeling of being so spacey, she inhaled the food and felt her mouth water, her stomach rumbling loudly much to her shock. Feeling warmth flood her cheeks, she looked around, sincerely meek enough to see if it was alright.

"Go ahead," Shirou urged, his smile now present and Sakura enamored by the girl's innocence and sheer presence in their midst remained silent. "I made it myself."

Picking up her utensils, the white-haired and ruby-eyed girl began to take some of the fresh smelling food. Getting clumps of meat along the noodles, she placed it delicately in her mouth with a cute chomping motion. The moment it hit her taste buds she felt her brain buzz and her whole face warm up with delight. Eyes watered up as she swished the food in her mouth, slurping it up noisily before swallowing with great effort. Smiling sincerely, she didn't pay any mind to the tears ebbing from her eyes down her cheeks, pulling on Taiga's heartstrings, making Shirou smile softly and Sakura smiled in addition.

"Good?"

"It's fantastic!" She gleefully proclaimed, digging in to chomp on more and more helpings. The older woman couldn't help herself as she began to dish more up into Illya's plate, fascinated just how much she could wolf down. Shirou chuckled at the proceeding with Sakura, finding her childish devouring of the food so out of character for most people he's seen in Fuyuki. Either this girl didn't know a lick of proper food etiquette or she's gone too long without eating to care acting dignified.

After eating for awhile, the group finally broke the ice after a few meaningful glances were exchanged. Taiga tapped a fork against her own plate, she got the sight of the plate slurping Illya finally set it down, face covered in sauce and broth. Giggling, the older woman reached out with a napkin and began wiping her face, making Illya glare in a pouting manner, "So, other than being a messy eater, what brought you to our neck of the woods, so-to-speak?"

Illya paused, looking a bit thoughtfully at the other two, specifically fixating on Shirou. Watching the red-haired man squirm made her grin insidiously on the inside, outward keeping a stoic mask of contemplation. When she finally spoke aloud, her words ebbed in a manufactured way that would fool the likes of such trusting individuals, "I'm here because I have nowhere else to go."

"Wait, so you're homeless?!" Shirou asked, almost startled with a blanching expression that made Sakura look concerned between him and the stranger sitting across the table.

"In a way," She admitted, looking down with an expression of forlorn that didn't compare to the emotions that Archer saw over a week ago at Castle Einzbern. "You see, I lived with my mother in a country far away from here. But, not more than ten years ago, I lost her in a terrible conflict. I've been kept safe, educated and fed for while my family's fortune guarded me but I've run out of options. I'm without a place to call my own and no one to look after me, so I went to the last place my mother had said to be before she passed away."

A mixture of expressions reflected the words she allowed them to hear. She was inwardly pleased how the caretaker and Shirou looked, like ripples of water sadness and empathy shifted across their faces as they were emulated through slight twists of their mouths, dilation and contractions of their eyes. Sakura looked, for a moment, like she was looking straight through her -her spine tingled at this- before she shared a worried expression with Shirou. Overall this story shared was enough to garner the emotions she was seeking, with the older woman placing a hand on her shoulder with concern radiating from her.

"I-I'm so sorry. You must be so nervous being in a place without any way of providing for yourself," She tried to comfort her, something that seemed alien to the cold exterior of Illya's heart.

"T-Thank you," She replied with a hiccup, holding a hand up to her face as she stifled dramatic sniffles and tears that potentially could burst from her eyes at any moment. "I-I a-apoligize for the inconven-nience. I'll leave first thing in the morning. I-I'm sure I can find a nice dark spot in town to sleep in-"

"Hey, don't go and do that!" Shirou exclaimed faster than he could process Illya's words. This all seemed too horrible and fantastic all at once. The strange girl who appeared in his life, a mother who had come here to his adopted father's home around the time before he lived in this place. It felt too jarring to be coincidence and the gut feeling manipulated by the girl's plight urged him to speak out of turn, despite his position. "I'm sure we can spare the guest bedroom for a while. I don't know how permanent it can be, but I think we can spare some meals and clothes for you to wear until we figure something out."

"That's presumptuous but sweet of you, Shirou," The older woman replied, now patting Illya's head -much to her chagrin- as she ruffled the head of white thoughtfully as she raised a finger to her lips. "I mean, if it's only for a short while, I'm sure it can be fine but we'll have to figure out what she should do in the long term. I'll be sure to think of something, so don't lump your busy schedule with extra responsibilities," She turned her face, avoiding the look of grimace forming on the red-headed boy's face at saying such untrue things, knowing full well she'd hand over care taking to him despite her bravado. Looking Illya in the eyes, she grinned and said quietly. "My name is Taiga Fujimura, relation to the landlord of this place and kind of part of this odd family. The industrious dork over there is Shirou Emiya and that sweet shy one is Sakura Matou."

Looking to the others, she saw the aforementioned girl and realized she was a relation to the one of the founding families of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. Her expression seemed a bit off, as if she was hiding something as she smiled slightly at her in a cordial manner. Shirou however was plain as day, with sleeve-worn feelings that gave him that obligated empathy she began to see as almost theatrical. Putting up a polite smile of her own, she bowed before them, flashing her ruby eyes and pearly teeth at them as she drank in the acceptance as part of her desired outcome.

"My name is Illya," She introduced herself, looking to all three of them as her Servant watched from a distance with a troubled expression. "Thank you for your hospitality. I promise to repay you all someday."

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, so this is a little experiment of mine that I decided on a whim. Based on a bout of perpetual laziness of my friend who kept talking about how he wanted to put to pen a story in which Illya is the Main character (while also being the Master of Archer) who'd get a genuine outcome/route for her to follow instead of, well, any of the other chosen characters. Until the madman Nasu himself writes and publishes a route based on the "Actually 18 Years Old" Tiny Murder Machine, this is my attempt to solicit this story as an actual fulfillment of that friend's wish. So far, from what I've showed him, he likes it and I like what I've written; just hope a larger audience appreciates it, for some reason or another.

While I may switch POV from different characters (As Most Routes tend to do) Illya/Archer are the main characters, with Shirou being kinda the tag-along and eventual Main Character as well. Given this is Fate, some events will be occurring naturally and some will be drastically different. Since Rin is not the Master of EMIYA, she will have another Servant instead. I won't say who the other Masters and Servants are but the story will reveal them as the story unfolds. Until then, please comment in the Review section with critiques, criticisms or thoughts on the story on a whole or possibilities you'd like to see or opinions on how to improve the story.

This won't be always a consistently updated story so keep that in mind. It'll come up whenever it does. Until then, I'll see you in the next update!


	2. End of Peaceful Days

Shirou felt content.

That was his feeling whenever he had whenever he was making himself useful for anyone who needed his help. Having lost everything in fire and ash ten years ago -even memory of what his life was like beforehand, including his parents- he made a point to adopt a philosophy of selflessness and put others before himself. This event of fixing a heater, something that was damaged during a violent argument between Ayako Mitsuzuri -current Captain of the Archery Club- and Shinji Matou -the second best archer of the Club- transpired, damaging the unit. Having been a proactive member of solving disputes as much as he issued out bulletins, announcements and did volunteer work on top of being a disciple monk in training, Issei Ryuudou watched with a leg crossed over the other, hand moving from his hand to the desk while his spectacles glinted from the passing afternoon Sun shining from the windows with his blue-raven hair swept neatly to the left side of his face.

"So, what do you think, Emiya?" He asked, finally speaking after a good ten minutes of silence of prodding and examining was made from Shirou with the tools in hand. "Is it salvageable, or do I need to put in an order for something else that has broken down?"

"You know, you could always report Shinji for...well...throwing this at Ayako," He reminded him, his soldering tool sparking across the machinery with a few flashes of blue and orange sparks dancing around the towel-laid surface of the club room they were inhabiting. "I mean, I know Ayako was the one who smashed it, but still..."

"It's because Shinji is a rich kid whose got ties to some less than savory people. The school board, let alone the principal, would be in for a migraine that'd be passed along to me if I even dare to speak out about the Matou Family's precious son," He sighed, waving a hand with emphasis as he closed his eyes. "On the other hand, I can't exactly fault her either. Shinji's been having a mean streak, especially in this past year. He's always had an attitude but I can't believe he's going around antagonizing people the way he has."

"Shinji's just got a sore spot for attention and he likes to get a rise out of people," Shirou affirmed, not taking his attention off the heater as a nostalgic smile bristled across his fair skinned features, his golden eyes glistening in memory. "I've always gotten on his nerves cause I never let it show I'm bothered by it. I think he likes to compete almost as much as he likes people's eyes on him. I guess with me not there, he's just getting an opposite effect with Ayako cause she doesn't get humored or let's it roll off."

"If you ask me, Rin Tohsaka seems to be the only person who actively puts him in his place and comes off as even more of an elite than he is," Issei rebuked, changing subjects to something that made himself boil on the inside. "She has no dignity! She'll use her looks to get her way, and if that's not enough, she's quite an aggressive hussy. She thinks she can just bully and manipulate anyone to do what she wants? The nerve of that girl!"

"Man, Issei, if she bothers you so much why don't you marry her?"

"TAKE THAT BACK, EMIYA!" Issei stood up and shouted, though it was in such a dramatic flair that Shirou couldn't help but set his soldering tool down and laugh into an open hand. Grimacing, he let out a deep breath, inhaled and recomposed himself, not bothering to look at his red-haired companion for fear of embarrassment swelling up more than it has. "Are you almost finished?"

"Yeah, I just need to wrap things up. Just give me some privacy to work my craft and I should be done," He replied with an innocent smile.

"Why I'm never allowed to watch you to the end still baffles me," Issei sweeps his bangs back in place, readjusting his glasses before casting a small smile Shirou's way. "But your dependency has always been constant, so I won't pry on your secrets. Just holler when you're done."

"Roger," Shirou replied, attentively watching his good friend walk out of the club room and close the door behind him. Placing a hand on the device, he inhaled and held his breath, raising his prana just enough to cast the spell he wanted. Muttering under his breath a simple, "Trace...On," let loose vein-like etchings from his hands and fingers, tracing over the machinery and gave him a conceptual mind's eye view of everything within the Archery Club dojo's broken device. From the wiring to the metallic flaps and the coils within, he could see the real fault was a mechanism within; preventing the functioning starter from being utilized. Releasing his spell, he smiled and began prying off some parts off the machine and returned back to his work.

"Oh, well if it isn't miss 'High and Mighty'. Come to bewitch more innocent minds with your hedonistic witchcraft?" Issei's voice rang out, loud and authoritative, from beyond the door of the club room, making Shirou look up for a moment before busying himself with fixing the faulty mechanism.

"I'm actually here to turn in my homework and the answers for some tests for my classes. I've been a bit too busy as, how you put it, bewitching innocent minds, Mister Rep," Rin's voice, cordially lashed out with a contrasting stoic venom to her usually chipper and daresay cute pitch her vocal chords usually produce.

"Your mind games won't work on me, for I am in training to hold my spirit and body in check through sheer will. Don't use flattery and fanciful words to undermine my work-hey! HEY!"

"Is that...perfume?" She inquired, making Shirou look up with an odd arch to his brow. He didn't smell anything, let alone notice anything odd about Issei other than the frustrations of doing too much that he shouldn't be obligated to. Listening further in as he didn't hear Issei retort, he assumed by a sweet giggle from Rin that brought him out to shout something unintelligibly back, she raised her voice a bit louder than earlier. "Oh wow, are you seeing someone, Issei?! What would Mr. Yamashiro think?"

"It is none of your business!" He readjusted his glasses, making a visible motion from the window pane of the club door of his arm gesturing provocatively with his left arm. "Now, take your business elsewhere, you hussy!"

"Hussy?!" She shrieked, her emotions incensed and her voice raising to a ear-rending pitch as she stomped; following of which a loud slap was heard with the boy's head bonking on the club door, finalized with a jab towards his dazed face. "Well fuck you too, Issei!"

Half-expecting to hear her continued aggravated assault, Shirou winced as he heard her stomp noisily off into the hallway opposite of their room. Sighing, he hefted the heater up and crab-walked over to the door, opening the club door to creep a gaze at her brown hair twirling with her skirt around the corner beyond sight. Looking up at Issei, he recoiled at the large welt of red encompassing his right cheek, his bangs disheveled over his bespectacled brow as he looked a bit begrudging at the outcome of the encounter.

"Don't. Say. A word," He enunciated, palming his face with a sigh before retracting his hand away from the stinging mark left by her hand; he swore he saw the outlines of her fingers to boot. "Please tell me some good news, Emiya."

"Oh yeah, the part was just the mechanism that powered the starter got out of whack when the surface and exterior got bashed up," Shirou patted the machine, grinning with affirmation and satisfaction at his own handiwork. "No big deal. If you want, I can help you lift it back to the dojo."

"Appreciate that," The glass-adorned School Body President nodded, bending his knees and helping the machine up with Shirou as they both walked a smooth pace to the appropriate direction it needed to be. As they hefted the machinery, Issei thought to change subjects as he looked over the slight warping on the metal, shaking his head at the sight. "I don't know what I find more surprising. The fact that Shinji could throw this with such accuracy or that Ayako had enough adrenaline pumping to smash it nearly back at his face."

"Truly, it was the real victim here," Shirou joked dramatically.

"Yes, it didn't ask for this," Issei played along, joining Shirou with a mutual chuckle as they stepped in sync down the stairs and crossed by another row of lockers. Passing by a few classmates here and there, with the day of the school still relatively early, they'd find a group of girls give them odd looks and a couple of other students. Sputtering out, the dark haired rep did his best to avoid direct eye contact though the sight of his mark was being whispered even as they moved.

Sighing, they eventually reached the dojo's door, turning around to pause as Issei raised a hand and knocked on the wooden barrier, "Mitsuzuri, we've managed to fix it."

A rapid shuffling of feet later and the barrier opened smoothly, revealing the brown haired, hazel eyed girl adorned in a long-black skirt and beige over-shirt over white blouse with a red ribbon tied at the collar. Having already packed up her school equipment from practice, she looked expectantly with an expectant grin; one that became wolfish at the sight of Issei's despondent expression.

"Wow, that looks like it smarts!" She pointed out, bending under and around while the Student Body President turned away sharply with a hiss. "What happened? Did you get our shining knight of the school Shirou Emiya to give you a smack?"

"Lay it off, Ayako and let us in," Shirou intervened, causing his old dojo colleague to roll her eyes and usher them inside.

The range looked like it was in need of some cleaning, what with the spots of dirt and other filth enamoring the smooth wooden floor part of the building facing the field of grass where targets would be hanged up. Despite the adamant feeling of nostalgia, they moved to the back part of the dojo and set down the heater where students would congregate indoors.

Wiping his brow, Issei was about to turn and leave before Ayako whistled, pointed at him and walked over to a fridge kept at the far end of the indoor meeting room. Opening it up, she tossed underhand to him, watching the bespectacled man catch it while she also tossed another to him. Looking down, they'd see they were fruit flavored water bottles, she herself having grabbed one of her own she unfastened while smiling in a bit more of an endearing way.

"I may give you crap, Issei, but I'm really grateful you covered my ass on this," She affirmed with a toothy smile, taking the lid off her drink as she looked between the pair with appreciation. "Seriously, I'd hate to have to receive trouble just because that asshole got me riled up enough to get quarterstaff out to give him a good smack."

"Oh right. I forgot you keep that in the dojo," Shirou mentioned with an upward look while Issei pressed the water bottle gingerly against his sore face, allowing its coolness to soothe his swollen cheek while the red-haired boy mused aloud. "I think you were an expert in the spear, but I forgot which kind. Was it the...uh..."

"Naginata."

"Yeah, that was it!"

"Seriously, Shirou," Ayako twisted her head, taking a swig of her bottle before gesturing to him with a wry grin. "With memory like that, I bet you'd forget your girlfriend's birthday."

"Ehe, yeah, you're probably right," He replied lamely, sheepishly chuckling as he sighed with a sip of his own bottle. "Though, I did remember to treat Illya to a nice meal and a trip to the mall; even though I missed the initial birthday, she forgave me for that."

"Oh yeah, that foreign girl that moved in with you right before the holidays," The brunette girl mentioned, placing a hand on her hip and looking at him with a curious expression he couldn't quite read. "I saw her meet you outside the school a few times. You've never really talk about her."

"There's really not much to talk about," Shirou answered half-honestly, looking at her with a clouded gaze as he looked partially past her as the image of Kiritsugu appeared from the fore of his mind. "Let's just say, our family is indebted to her and we'll take care of her until we figure out a situation that's beneficial for her."

"Befitting for someone as noble as you, Emiya," Issei remarked, his own face masked in showing his pleasure but he could tell by his words that he vocally affirmed his conduct. Then, his smile became a slight bit mischievous than usual as he commented further. "As long as you aren't taking advantage of her situation, that is?"

"E-Eh?!" Shirou gawked, recoiling with shock at the accusation. "B-But, why you-"

"Pfffft, lay off him, Prez," Ayako snorted, winking at Shirou with a shake of her head. "He's hopeless when it comes to women, even those of dubious age. After all, just how old can she be anyways?"

"She actually didn't tell me her age," The red-haired boy surprised them both. A smile of resignation and an awkward shrug, he finished with a sigh. "She said, and I quote, 'Unless it's a lady who wills it, you shan't ask for her age, no matter how much you desire it'."

A few beats passed as both of them stared at him silently; the two finished with a snort or a roll of the eyes to complement their personalities.

"...yeah, she may actually be older than I thought," Issei muttered while Ayako shook her head.

"Regardless of actual age, do you think she's cute? I mean, that white hair sure is a shocker and makes her stand out but, what do you think?" The archer jock leaned in with hands folded behind her back, bottle still in hand. "C'mon, give me a hint. It's not often I see you get flustered about a girl in a positive way, you know?"

"I-It's not like that, I swear!" Shirou denied fervently, his cheeks now becoming a rosy red while sweat formed around his brow. The distant sound of the tuning of a megaphone caught their attention, as the Lunch Period was nearing its end; the same period he used to help Issei with the broken heater he just delivered.

Sighing, Ayako rolled her eyes annoyance and both boys left together out of the dojo with her, leaving her to lock it up to get to her own classes. Still, the thoughts surrounding his relationship with Illya swam back into his mind.

" _It's been four months now since she's moved in with us, and I still know next to nothing about her connection with Kiritsugu_ ," He counted as he walked in relative silence next to Issei. Parting ways down the hall, he'd maneuver past a few traveling students, still dwelling in his private sanctuary of his mind. Eyes drifted from ahead to the ceiling, memories of the brief yet enjoyable time he's had with the white-haired, ruby-eyed girl who fell in literal and figurative means into his life. " _She's kept to herself, talking to me so she'd know more about stuff in my past or anyone I know, but little else. She'd convince me to take her to trips across town, sight-seeing and window-shopping -when she isn't actually making me purchase some more outrageous things for her-. But still, I can't shake this feeling that some sort of destiny has intertwined her with my own. Is it just nothing more than fortunate coincidence? Or is this-?_ "

Maneuvering to grab his next batch of papers and text books from his oncoming locker he bumped shoulders with a familiar student of similar height and build with a tuft of stylized cobalt hair. Turning around, he waved in apology, recognizing him as Shinji Matou. As he began to speak, he cast a venomous stare and said something out of his hearing before he walked away, joining a pair of pretty female students with arms draped dramatically over their shoulders. Raising a brow, Shirou just scratched his chin and dismissed the thought, walking away with school supplies and his student bag in hand.

The rest of the passed by, his thoughts returning to the earlier dialogue he had with Issei and Ayako. Between the lectures he attended with familiar and less so faces, he wondered just what Illya's true purpose was within Fuyuki City. The first night was perhaps the most he ever gleaned about her intentions; a sincere pain lingering beyond the suffering lost by her mother bereft her of maternal warmth and comfort. The sketchy details of her homeland let her remain enigmatic and her means of arriving here in such a fine tailored clothes made him wonder whom was her benefactor before the money had run out.

Opting to journey with Sakura home from school, the pair would traverse the winding path going up and over a hillside giving a scenic view of the major part of downtown Fuyuki. As the Sun began to set, gleams of orange sprayed rays amidst passing clouds, giving a twinkling of faint shine that gave long shadows off the natural light that began to dim, the street lights not quite yet fading over them. The pair would walk with the overcast of tangerine-crimson lapping over them, splitting between obstructing clouds and objects, but holding a soft luminescence for their crossing of paved ground.

Eventually, the silence was broken when Sakura's voice emitted, almost too faint to be heard but nonetheless halted the red-head student, "Shirou, how long do you plan keeping Illya in your home?"

Stopping short, the adopted son of Kiritsugu halted his advance and so did the girl behind her. He didn't look behind her, just taking in the fact that she would more than likely have to accept that Illya would be forced to leave her new home. His stillness didn't need words to express how much he didn't want it, and his lack of retort equaled the mystery of why he wanted to keep her close to him; or rather, keep her in his life.

"Sakura, do you remember what your early childhood was like?" Shirou finally asked, his voice ragged and held a rare somber quiver that she never heard before. Looking up at the back of his head, she was quiet, not wanting to answer or was just curious about what he'd say? Either way, he continued to speak after a good pause was left unchallenged, his words unfurling with emotion as he spoke. "I can't. It's not that I don't want to, it's that it's impossible. Before Kiritsugu, it's just...nothing. Like a blank sheet of paper covering static and filled with white noise, nothing is there. The doctor said it's a form of trauma induced long-term amnesia, caused more than likely from the aftershock of surviving what I did. They said that it was a miracle, given where I was I should've been dead, but he saved me from that Hell no one else survived; including my family."

Turning to look at Sakura, her eyes pulsed with a throbbing longing that radiated with a need to understand, becoming filled to the brim once she saw his dead nearly thousand yard stare aimed squarely at her. Or, perhaps it was past her? His voice was suddenly croaking and his mouth continued to tremble as he explained more, "I-If...for some reason, I can find out what Illya's mother was doing here, ten years ago and what her purpose is for reuniting with me, perhaps I can...find out why that fire happened. I want to know, why I'm alive when I shouldn't be. I died, but Kiritsugu saved me, but I don't know what from. If she's lost the same thing as me, not only should I keep her safe, like Kiritsugu did for me, but I should find out what I can and learn what I haven't all these years! Isn't that worth just a little extra time?!"

Wind picked up by them, caressing their school uniformed bodies with its sudden chill. The warmth of the Sun was vanishing with the light, the halo making a majestic hue off Sakura's violet hair died and its darkness putting a more sad deep purple. When the street light switched on, she was looking down, an unreadable blankness with nothing but a depression oozing out of her eyes. This attitude was the result of his words, and for once, he felt as if his confession may have had the opposite effect instead of helping Sakura understand.

Clenching his eyes tight, he sighed, turning around and renewed his trek, hearing Sakura's feet soon join after him. As a street lamp shuddered nearby, almost shaking, Shirou got flashing ring in his head as if something was out of place. Turning to look at the street light, he looked up and over, his senses tracing what he felt was a distortion in the air before his eyes set upon the blinking horizon of night lights activating in downtown. He brought a hand to caress his face, sputtering out as he dismissed the unknown anomaly as his tired mind playing tricks on him.

All the while a fluttering crimson cloaked figure watched the pair walk the path home.

* * *

Illya could feel the pieces beginning to fall in place. Based on continued reconnaissance both under the cover of night and with the aid of the day she found the perfect staging grounds to begin her war against the other masters and their servants respectively. Using the Emiya Estate was a great disguise while her true headquarters were properly maintained by her handmaidens, keeping it ready for the time she'd eventually return there. In of itself, this was a decent place for her to monitor Shirou's ever move and dissect every facet of his day-to-day routine and life down to the most minute detail.

Archer assisted her, albeit begrudgingly, in her quest to hound him and scope his development while she became a constant facet of his life. Based on the most recent conversation, she could only deduce that he was desperate to keep her in the same place without going through the effort to find her a new place to live or find out what she was looking for. She had thought he'd be more invasive after this much time had been spent idling by but he was a very comfortable creature of habit, despite that unconscious longing for something greater; part of which was revealed this night.

By the time Sakura and Shirou arrived home, she was already adorned in her white kimono fastened by a rose colored obi, matching her pale complexion and hair to the ruby hues of her eyes. Greeting them at the door, she was attentive to his state of mind, urging him to not worry as they gathered for another eventful meal.

The television, however, brought up an announcement that drew Miss Fujimura's attention. Grabbing the remote nearby her place at the table, she turned up the volume, and everyone was rattled by what the bulletin stated.

"-conclusion of the incident has left many people baffled by the pools of blood left in the wake of missing bodies, some of which have left mangled corpses in their wake. The deaths leaving up to a dozen and the missing somewhere in the triple dozen so far. Authorities have issued a mandatory curfew for the following districts and to keep an eye out for suspicious characters in which you need to inform them after you vacate the premis-"

"What the Hell?" Shirou exclaimed with morbid confusion, twisting around at his table while Sakura looked pale and Illya turning to look with a pair of narrowed crimson eyes. "Who would do that kind of thing?"

"It _is_ Miyama Town. There might've been some sort of accident, or chemicals involved, what with it being an older part of the city," Taiga dismissed, trying to ease the minds of the children present with an obviously forced smile; at least, it was easy to see from Illya's perspective. Leaning forward, she did meet everyone in the eyes as she insisted with the same pleasant tone she led with. "Though, it's wise to listen to the authorities until this mess is cleaned up. Make sure you all come home earlier than usual; I'm sure the school will address that as well, but this is just me, your concerned guardian, talking to you."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," The red-haired man nodded, looking to Sakura who seemed to look lost in thought. Leaning forward, he waved a hand over her face, drawing her out of her stupor with a squeaking start. With widened eyes she looked at Shirou and then Illya, finally over at Taiga. Bowing her head, she cleaned her spot and began standing upright, causing Shirou to look up with worry and his hand instinctively reached out to grab her arm sleeve. "Sakura, you alright? You're not spooked about what's happened, right?"

She shook her head, a sad smile gracing her face upon facing him, "I just remembered I have a lot to do at home. I'm sorry for rushing out so rudely, but with club activities cancelled, I think it's best I make up for that extra time tonight."

"Ah, okay," He replied, forcing his own brighter smile as he stood up and walked around the table as she ushered herself to the door. During his walk, he'd fail to see the twisted lips of Miss Fujimura or Illya's narrowed eyes of keen awareness of an uneasy air surrounding the Matou girl. As she put on her outside shoes, with Shirou still wearing his own indoor shoes, he walked out to the path and watched her coat wrapped person take a few slow steps away from the main structure of the Emiya Estate. Then, she turned and looked away from him, but her face was closer to seeing his outline than it was a moment before; giving a shadowed, melancholic and mysterious visage the young man hasn't seen from her in the time he's known her. "Shirou...will you make sure to come home early, no matter what? There's something I want to...talk to you about."

Blinking oddly, Shirou scratched his scalp and murmured aloud, "Sure, Sakura, but why can't you tell me now?"

"It isn't a good time," She smiled oddly, shaking her head before looking at him once more with a sad gleam from her violet eyes. "It'd be unfair of me to ask you to promise me, but, I just had to ask. Take care of yourself, Shirou."

Numbly, Shirou Emiya watched his junior classmate walk across the paved path of his adopted home and open the gate, closing it with a succinct thud before traveling out of earshot. Darting his eyes down, he bit his lower lip and gripped his hands at his sides, unsure why he felt so frustrated about this sudden departure. Surely it wasn't related to the television news? It triggered something in her head, but he hadn't the faintest idea what; after all, if there was one person he didn't know much about, it was Sakura Matou, whom he has spent much more time with.

Turning around, he'd see Illya, staring at him with a twinge of concern that was retracted from another expression of surprise entirely. He blinked, wondering if his eyes was playing tricks on him, but the kimono dressed girl stepped forward and reached a hand out to grab his. Feeling the warmth of her smaller hand, the shorter woman pulled it up to place it on her face, causing his eyes to dilate and his mouth open to question but she sternly looked back at him.

"Shirou Emiya, I don't want you to worry about anything that's going on. Forget what's happened tonight, and go to school as you always do, with a blissful smile and no dim thoughts," Her words entered his ears in a way that was uncommon for her, measured and collected with a layer of frost upon the base of her voice. Then, in a split instant, she turned it into a giggling smile that brought him out of his dim spell and brightened his countenance. "Alright? Don't worry about a thing."

A few moments of deliberation was all it took for him to dispel his worries. When he really thought about it, all of this could just be an exaggeration blown out of proportion. After all, sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing unusual about it once properly investigated, right? And Sakura's always been a worrier. It wasn't anything he should be concerned about, Shirou decided.

"Thanks, Illya," He affirmed with a sincere smile. "This will probably just blow over before we know it, right?"

"Mhm!" She nodded cheerily. Despite the front she put up -earning a begrudging head ruffle that made her pout her lips and huff with indignation- he walked off with his right hand swaying by and the other pocketing in his pants. Catching a glance of his hand's skin she saw what she had glanced and felt with her own fingers and palm; the etchings of a blood-red marking encroaching upon his hand's surface. Due to his own dense awareness and usual mentally taxed mind, she figured this was a recent phenomena. Her own experience informed her what it was and an inkling what should be done crawled into the back of her mind which she dismissed outright.

It wasn't the right time, not yet. Soon, however, their dream of peace will come crashing down and bring the curtains with them; the illusion of family torn asunder for her grand introduction. Grinning, she hummed an eerie tune as she skipped into the home and closed the main structure door behind her, with its clank echoing into the wind blowing night.

* * *

The next day, Shirou was actually relieved. While Sakura had left earlier than usual to school, he blew it off, remembering the advice given to him by his sage guest. The walk over to his school was spent in admiration of the chilled weather that lacked the snowfall they had in the previous couple of months, especially around the holidays. Trekking across the paved sidewalk, he'd eventually find himself at the school grounds, joined with some others making the trip to make it casually before the morning bell.

However, as he passed through the school gate, he felt an ominous thrum pulse across his senses. Like walking through a veil of chills and static, his eyes widened and his mouth parted, unable to properly analyze the sensation that transpired over him. Looking around, he saw no other student seem to acknowledge it, or that he could tell, anybody that had his latent magical talents. As quickly as the sensation came upon him, it vanished and he decided to put it behind him, and just enjoy the rest of the day as he started it.

The early classes weren't a big deal, just more of the same and no word of a potential curfew closing just yet. He figured the school board must be still in discussion or wanted to wait until later in the day. It didn't bother him none, allowing himself to coast through the morning and taking his lunch to an uneventful stop at the clubroom inhabited by the only one reclining with his own lunch set down, Issei Ryuudou.

"Hey, Issei," He remarked, his cheerfulness catching Issei a bit off guard.

"Oh, Emiya," The monk in-training registered his attitude with a glance up and down at his seating person. "I'm surprised you're so enthusiastic. What's the change?"

"Nothing much," The red-headed boy answered with a shrug, unpacking his lunch and setting up his utensils. "Just got some good advice to not worry about things today, is all."

"Hm, perhaps if this was any other day, I'd agree with that sentiment."

"What do you mean?" Shirou asked, taking a bite out of a rice cake.

"If you haven't seen the news, apparently the school decided to take extra precautions and cancel all after-school activities in order for everyone to get home early," Issei explained, making Shirou frown a bit in between his chewing. Gesturing with emphasis, he looked calmly at his classmate with a neutral expression on his face. "I happen to get informed before Lunch at an important mission. They're going to make an announcement after the last class while Club Leaders will be informed discreetly to avoid spreading any form of panic or rumors from circulating in-school."

"People who've seen the news will probably be talking about it anyways," Shirou commented thoughtfully, chewing on more of his meal as he speculated with his friend. "I mean, what's really stopping them from talking about it now from those who are informed?"

"Look, I wish I could explain the rationality of the board, but you'll just have to trust me it's better this way," He sighed with resignation, looking over at the door. A particular face appeared, surprising the pair as the door opened and revealed a familiar tress of brunette stride in and look at Shirou's direction in particular. Blinking owlishly upon her singling him out, she gestured to him and made a simple wave to Issei before the red-head could utter a word.

Getting up, he followed her outside to the barren hallway and closed the door behind him. Looking at her, he enunciated curiously, "And...what can I do for you, Ayako?"

"Well, that depends," She led on, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting a hip out to the side in a casual lean. "I have to ask, even if its a long shot, but did you happen to see Shinji at all after school? Or this morning?"

"Shinji?" Raising a brow, the redhead waved a hand with understandable confusion. "Why? What did he do now?"

"It's what he isn't doing that's pissing me off," She snorted, rolling her eyes as she thumbed down the hall as she explained. "The asshole was supposed to clean up the dojo grounds but he's been putting it off for almost a week. I'm sure you saw the pigsty floors and the dust hanging off the walls, right?"

"Ah, right. School activities are closing early and you've got your other obligations to do too," Shirou assessed, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought about it out loud. "Can't it wait? I mean, the school's supposed to keep students from staying late after all."

"Believe me, if I wasn't already swamped with studies and prepping other things, I'd have done it by now," She assured him with a raise of her hands, now looking a bit more pleading in her eyes and stretching her face to impose this to him. "Please, you'd be doing me a huge favor getting this done. I promise, I'll even take you out on a date; my treat to any place you'd like."

The wording of it made Shirou briefly warm to the cheeks, and his eyes widened. The look in her eyes however softened his heart along with the sound of her voice sincerely begging him for help. It's not like he didn't want to help, but after what Issei had told him, he was under the impression it would be in his best interest to head home with everyone else. He wouldn't do it because a nice girl like Mitsuzuri was enticing him or that he was guilty, he was just torn on what was the right choice?

" **Don't worry about a thing!** "

Illya's words flashed to the forefront of his mind, reminding him to not overthink things and just do things as he'd normally do. The encouragement from back then reapplied his nerve to shake off what was told to him, allowing him to loosen the tension he didn't know he had in his shoulders and let them sag with a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Sure," Shirou smiled cheerfully at Ayako, causing the brown haired girl's eyes to widen at this. "I mean, it shouldn't take me too long with a little elbow grease, right?"

Shaking her head, the tomgirl reached out and pulled Shirou into a rare hug, catching him by surprise and squeezing the air out of his lungs. Releasing him from her hold, she placed a quick peck on his cheek, causing his face to engulf in red before she punched him in the shoulder, making him grimace and contort with bewilderment. These things weren't normal, especially for Ayako!

"Don't scare me like that, Shirou Emiya!" She faked a scowl, turning it into a giddy laugh as she began walking away with her hands behind her back, waving back to him as she eyed him over the shoulder. "Oh, and if you tell anyone about our arrangement, I'll make you sorry you did!"

"Uh, I was going to do it anyways," Shirou replied lamely, causing her to laugh more raucously as she skipped down the hall.

Scratching his cheek, he watched her disappear down the hall and around the corner, causing him to ponder what was with the factitious attitude? He couldn't comprehend the mind of the opposite sex, so he just chalked it up as just some weird girl thing. Shrugging, he reentered the club room, making Issei look at him with a pensive -and visibly invasive- stare from his seat at the table.

"What was that about?" He asked brusquely.

Remembering the earlier halfhearted threat, Shirou chuckled and shook his head, taking his seat back at the end of the table before eating his lunch with gusto, "Nothing, Issei. Nothing at all."

* * *

" **Archer, this better be important.** "

" **It is. After following the boy as you insisted I felt an ominous surge of mana come from entering the premises of the school he studies at. There's a bounded field, and from the feel of it, a quite crafty laying of one if not a bit rudimentary in its creation**."

" **So, one of the Masters is a student or a teacher at the school who doesn't mind indiscriminate slaughter. We can safely say it isn't just to prove a point or for the thrill of it, given this is a barrier; likely it is going to be charged using the life force of those inside and empower the Master or the Servant in question.** "

" **What are your orders, Master?** "

" **We're going to see if anyone is going to take the bait.** "

" **So, you think someone else will try to interfere with it?** "

" **More than likely we're going to have somebody with a heart try to disable it themselves, or another possibility, investigate the cause and inhibit their opponent from gaining more power. It's also possible they could try to find out its source and try to use it to find out the identity of the Master or its Servant.** "

" **In that case, remaining in stealth will be our preferable option. I'll keep in mana form while you employ your magecraft.** "

" **Alright, let's head out, Archer.** "

After conversing via telepathy, Illya was carried by her Servant towards the school in leaps and bounds. She'd be letting out pleased laughter as she'd sail across the sky before falling down in repetition of their hopping momentum. With her stomach rising up to her neck and falling back downward, it was on the cusp of nauseating while the winter weather was a bit nipping on her skin but her artificial nature combined with being raised in a cold climate dampened the ill effects.

Dropping to the ground, she wove some threads and wrapped an invisible curtain of light that obscured her presence both visually and via her prana to the environment. Unless she was standing fairly close, not even a perceptive Servant could notice her violet furred hat and coat covered body. With her own Heroic Spirit watching in his incorporeal form, they passed through the fold of the barrier and she twinged at the feel of it. Feeling just what her familiar had said, she could only imagine the amount of ruthless carnage this could invoke if left unchallenged on the students and faculty members here.

Looking around, she began to walk calmly, her eyes scanning the area for any possible anomalies that stood out from the usual. The sight of an abandoned school made her nerves dance, the jitters exciting her as blood pumped from her heart in an ecstatic manner. If it wasn't for the mission at hand demanding her stealth, she would've dared anyone to come at her as her instincts for battle demanded something satisfy her growing appetite for bloodshed.

A sudden pulse was felt, as part of a circle had been tampered with the greater whole of the bounded field. Her eyes furrowed, looking around, not feeling the prana responsible for tampering with it. She wondered if this was Assassin's doing, but alerting anyone like herself would be a rookie mistake. No, instead it drew out something else that was watching; that someone being a significant prana that exuded over a water tower next to one of the main school buildings. It swirled up and manifested into the crouching form of a blue hued figure with a red-dyed weapon, a spear perhaps?

" **I spotted a Servant up there. Looks like he's noticed what we just did,** " She mentioned to her Servant.

" **Yes, I see him. Do you want me to take a shot at him?** "

" **Actually, I got a more _entertaining_ method,**" She intoned with a Cheshire grin, making Archer EMIYA sweat bullets as she pulled a hair and formed a ghostly bird familiar. " **Be ready.** "

" **H-Hold on, Master, we shouldn't be-!** "

It happened in an instant. Transforming the bird into a sword, she shot it at frightening speed towards the support beams of the tower the Servant was crouching on. Slicing through it, she gestured and wrapped the threads around the now fragile superstructure. With a guided yank, the whole of it began to groan and churn, causing the Heroic Spirit resting upon it to gawk, howl with shock and then be thrashed down in a shattering of metal and blast of water. With the wave of liquid let loose around the side of the building and the side of the structure superficially damaged, out rose a visibly incensed statuesque man with a crew cut looking tuft hair of deep cobalt leading to a tied ponytail. His armor consisted with metal pauldrons shaping over his shoulders, leading to metal outlines over skin-tight fabric, showing the contours of his muscular frame. Most noteworthy was the crimson spear held in his right hand, pulsing with a familiar thrum of mana to Archer and his displeasure was already made known via mental link to the deviously pleased girl.

" **Master, that was incredibly foolish!** " He rebuked mentally.

"It'd been foolish not to do that," She argued, twisting around and pointing at him with a childish expression of humor stretched on her face. "I mean, did you hear him scream as he came crashing down?!"

" **Take this more seriously, Master!** "

"OI-OI-OI!" Clanged out the barking dog, causing both to turn and observe the Heroic Spirit looking straight at them. "What sick joke was that?! Not only did your little prank piss me off, it did virtually no damage! What kind of surprise attack was that supposed to be, huh?!"

"One made by an immature, dangerous child," Archer murmured under his breath, causing Illya to kick him in the shin, causing the man to grimace but not move. Fully materializing in a rippling blue wave of mana, he and Illya were made known to the man standing opposite. Strengthening his countenance, he took a few steps in front of his short Master, charging his steely-grey eyes at the Servant opposite of him. "You shouldn't act in such an uncouth way either, Lancer. Such an attitude will make you sloppy and easier to end you in a single motion."

"Ha! Well don't you got the nerve?!" Lancer snarked, taking up a left-legged leaning stance, spear held aloft with the razor edge pointed at a decline to the ground and its back raised up. Just as he fancied the idea of running him through in a single leap, his opponent vanished from the air in a split instant. Veins contracted across his face, razor-slits for pupils dilated and his perception enhanced to work in sync with his reflexes. Twisting around with a whistling swing of his spear, he blocked a harrying assault of sword swings, crashing across the pole handle of his weapon with surprising pressure and built-up momentum that exceeded the human capacity.

Darting around, Illya watched with giggling glee at the sight beheld to her. Streaks of blue and red danced like lightning across the open courtyard of the school grounds, dust unsettled with every clash and the air sending careening waves of wind howling from the more noteworthy collisions. This initial dance was just the beginning, and she was verily pleased at the spectacle shown at firsthand.

Twisting around a bodily arc to avoid a spear's thrust, the single sword Bakuya slid across the pole of Lancer's spear and slid about before Reinforcement increased at the last moment, batting the defending lean and sent him hurtling across the campus into a storage shed. A shattering blast of debris, a hurtling desk of sorts sent hurtling harmlessly in front of him; right before a suddenly appearing Lancer who sped up his thrusts at the now defending Archer.

A defining crack splintered his sword, causing the spearman to grin emphatically as he lunged for the kill.

Twisting air, glowing light and a pulse of mana formed another blade in his alternative hand, deflecting the weapon with ease and forcing back the Servant with a now black weapon with red octagon grooves fashioned over its ebony surface. Forming another Bakuya in his other hand, the man raised his spear aloft in front of him, his eyes wide and his brow furrowed with audible frustration.

"Alright, what the Hell is this?!" Lancer cried out, swinging his weapon abroad with indignation. "Those moves are shabby for a swordsman and yet you're using swift incantation for that other sword. What Class Servant are you?"

"Confused? Perhaps if you were a sharper eye as you were to pick us out before you'd figure that out already," Archer smarmed, a hint of a smile taunting him as he spoke his own analysis. "I, however, already have deduced your true identity. With your skill in a lance only comparable to three in the world, the armor you adorn yourself with and the style you heft that weapon makes it clear; Cu Chulainn."

Sighing, the Lancer's attitude shifted from frustration to bemusing respect. Looking up and down at the white-haired man, he twisted his spear around till it was aligned in a particular stance; one that was known eerily too well to the Counter Guardian. An ignition of crimson flames of mana bristled across the edge of the spear, flowing up the handle till it petered off its pommel. Staring back, he tightened his grip on his weapons, already formulating a plan to halt the Noble Phantasm that was being prepared.

Then, a sudden rattling noise was heard, and both Servants' turned to acknowledge what lied beyond the scope of their fight.

"WHO'S THERE?!" Lancer shouted, Archer already knowing whom had disturbed their encounter. The distant gasps of fright and retreating footsteps etched into his mind from the countless recreations of this scene that he participated in listening to. Just as quickly as their fight began, Lancer left, shifting into a mana form to pursue.

It was unfortunate, however, that Illya's eyes had caught the familiar if not distant outline of whom was fleeing the scene amidst the chaos of their fight.

"Archer!" She cried out, causing EMIYA to wince at being called out. "Don't just stand there! After him!"

"It's probably best if we follow mage law and-"

The sudden pulse of her prana followed up with an imposing throb of pain caused his whole head to ache and nearly crack. Looking over with sweat sloughing off his brow, his eyes filled with red veined cracks, he'd see the menacing Command Seals glow alight over her face and thrum ominously beneath her furred clothes. With hair blistering out akin to Medusa, she commanded him with distinct authority in her voice.

"By my Command Seal you will rescue Lancer's target and protect him till he's out of harm's way!"

Without a say in the matter, his body moved on its own. Grinding his teeth together -even within his astral form- he moved with impeccable momentum and speed, speeding through the building's floors and windows up to the point where the red-haired boy was heaving breath. He was beginning to turn and that fated blow that was aiming for his heart would never come; for Archer's blades would cross in front of him and the flash of red derail over the white-haired man's head into the school ceiling.

"W-WHA-!" Was all Shirou Emiya could get out before feeling a boot kick him in the solar plexus and send him reeling backwards the way he came. Crumpled him slightly, he painfully looked up at the broad back of the red-black clothed man who saved him, not getting even a glance of who he was. Just as he began to stand up, he heard a horrible shout that rattled him back to his senses.

"GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I DECIDE TO KILL YOU MYSELF!"

Feeling adrenaline pumping through his veins once more, the young man began to clamber down stairs and go an opposite direction he used for a breakneck getaway back home. He had just been cleaning, lost in his helpful task he promised Ayako to do, making it spic and span, admiring his work after the Sun had long since gone down and the moon rose up into the night. To his surprise he had bore witness to something supernatural and it almost cost him his life.

" _I should've listened to Sakura! Taiga was right! What the Hell was I doing here?!_ " He thought as Archer began to do battle with Lancer in the hallway he had long since abandon.

Illya herself had rushed over to the outside point where she could get a good view of the battle transpiring within. Like before, it was a flare of blue and red, cracking and shuddering the windows down to their frames as the pair had a much more cramped space to maneuver. On the one hand, she knew this was a benefit to Archer, disabling his enemy from moving quickly and using his thrusts would be far more dangerous without room to escape. The other hand, he had no means of gaining ground if he wanted to fire a salvo projectiles.

However, Archer was about to reveal another nifty trick.

Tossing a sword past Lancer, he summoned another, tossing it and another pair as it was deflected or spun out of harm's way. Soon there was a pair of blades circling the limited space, constricting the spearman into a boxed area. Gritting his teeth, he began raising his weapon in defense as they spiraled around like spinning razors, crashing into the staff of his weapon in showers of sparks over and over till a pair of them were grasped by Archer who slid beneath his guard and swung around in cleaving arcs at underside of his right arm and side.

"Ngh, shit!" Lancer swore, feeling the bite of the blades cut past the grooves of his armored mesh as he stumbled around and thrust out his spear, managing to nick him across the cheek. The pair resumed a continuous flurry of blows that shattered and broke the surfaces of the flooring to the windows, sending glass shards showering to the ground outside, forcing Illya to deflect some with her mana-infused threads. As the engagement ran on, the Servant seemed to grow frustrated by their current environment and the minor wounds accumulated by both of them. Worst, the confinement made getting his Noble Phantasm to activate would be halted before it could launch properly, making this current avenue a particular disadvantage he didn't wish to pursue.

"Hey, _Red Saber_ ," He spoke to his enemy, for lacking any better call sign to give him without understanding his true nature. His wounds would diminish and so would Archer's as he stood erect in the way he was earlier. "I'm disengaging from this fight. My Master wanted me to observe and beyond a point, I wouldn't go full-out, not in a place like this."

"I accept these terms," Archer affirmed, lowering his weapons and following the conduct of this ability Lancer was utilizing. "My Master's conditions for the Command Seal used have already been met. Do what you wish, I have no desire to keep fighting in this current area or time."

"Tch, what an understanding guy," Lancer smirked, turning around with his spear hauled over his shoulder, disappearing in a waft of blue mist. "I'll be going now, tying up loose ends and all. You understand?"

He didn't answer. The memory of this hallway's occurrence being changed by his own hands sickened him in some way. He knew that there was a cost for being summoned by Illyasviel but he never imagined such a vast deviation occurring. Turning around he'd disperse into mana, he'd rejoin his Master in the courtyard, much to his chagrin as she scowled at his return.

"Why did you let him go?! And where is he?"

"Who?" He feigned ignorance, though that just earned a scarier glare which made him raise his hands up with insistence. "I got him out safe, don't worry about it. That Lancer was too busy with me to even notice. I'm sure it'll take him a long time before he puts two and two together."

"Sure," Illya replied with dubiousness, crossing her arms and looking away from him. After a daunting amount of silence passed, she snapped her fingers and pointed to the ground. Sighing, Archer relented and allowed her to mount his back, forcing him to stand upright with her legs held under his arms and hands holding onto his shoulders. "Back to the Emiya Estate, pronto!"

"Yes, Master," He answered begrudgingly, bending down on his knees and leaping with a dramatic pulse of mana and air being shocked. Taking flight he'd soar across the air and get his bearings back in the direction appropriate to what he sought. Hitting a rooftop he propelled himself off it, jumping from one platform and elevated structure to another. With Illya's clenching grip an ever-present reminder than he couldn't dally no matter how much he wanted it, he journeyed up and over to the eventual stop of the home she's lived in for the past four months.

It was strangely quiet, with only the faintest of murmurs had. Dropping her down to the ground, he began to slowly approach the area when he had sudden sense of static and crimson vision bleed over. This scene, it was familiar and yet, different at the same time. A stroke of a blade, a song of metal, and shredding of flesh and blood; it was all that it took to compel him to move.

Leaping past Illya in a blur of red, he performed an instantaneous Projection of Kanshou and Bakuya, clashing in the air against an invisible sword arcing towards his Master. The blows were strong and the grace was uncanny, forcing each and every strike with magnified sparks and blasts of wind from each clash between the pair's weapons. After nearly a dozen exchanges, the weapons in Archer's hands rattled and was on the verge of breaking, his countenance shaken as his mouth parted and his eyes narrowed.

Looking past him Illya saw something that took her breath away. It wasn't the Lancer, but another Servant; one beautiful and refined in every way. Sun-kissed blonde hair had framed a cherub youthful face with a single ahoge frayed upward while the rest of her beautiful yellow tresses were adorned into a braided bun behind her head. Her emerald eyes glared pointedly at them as her weapon, an unseen blade hidden by Invisible Air, channeled a swirl of mana in preparation for a finishing blow. She wore a blue and white dress, enamoring it with steel plating that wrapped her skirt up into a form-fitted breastplate that collared around her neck and protected her arms in gauntlets much like the boots covered by the hem of her armored skirt.

A sudden skirting stop of a frazzled yet alive Shirou caught Illya's eye, making her smile sinisterly. The effect was made on the Servant in front of them, raising her sword up and-

"Illya?" Shirou began to question, suddenly seeing his new companion bear her weapon in order to slay the white-haired girl and the strange red-black man who saved him earlier. Raising his hand out without thinking, he cried out with a desperate plea. "SABER! STOP!"

Due to either improper training or his desire rang true enough without incantation and thorough channeling of mana, a flash of red came from the mark on his hand Illya saw the night before -now fully manifested- and a pulse of otherworldly energy seized Saber up and constricted her movement. Grimacing at this, she looked incensed at the young man over her shoulder, her voice raising up with indignation, "Master! What are you doing?! Our enemies stand before us; we should slay them quickly-!"

" **Master, we should withdraw,** " Archer insisted mentally, though Illya walked past him, causing him to balk visibly since again. " **Master!** "

"I guess there's no helping it," She sighed, though a playful smile still adorned her face that drew his and the aforementioned Saber's attention. Grabbing the sides of her skirt, she did a proper curtsy, closing both eyes as she announced herself in an accent and mannerism so very different than the red-head was used to hearing. "My name is Illyasviel Von Einzbern. It's a pleasure to meet you in this conflict at last, Shirou Emiya."

Gaping with a slack jawed mouth, Saber looked between the two and questioned with a flabbergasted expression and a point at the white-haired, ruby-eyed girl, "You know her, Master?"

"I-I...thought I did," He mumbled out lamely, almost feeling the strength give out from his legs, though he was caught by a free hand of his Servant to steady his bruised and weary body upright.

"Let's go inside, Shirou," Illya insisted, her voice more familiar but with an eerie edge he was still foreign to as her eyes gleamed at him with unknown intent while her voice belied a temptation to his ears. "Let's answer all of your questions; I'm sure you have plenty for me to give you, don't you, my sweet Shirou?"

* * *

 **A/N** : And finished! After a week of positive and excited Reviews I've come back with the next installment of Fate Stay Night: Artifice. This Chapter was an enjoyable retelling as I dabbled with various events that took place in the usual routes but tweaked enough to make up my own interesting spin of conversations for character building, development and (more importantly) how Illya's stay at Shirou's home has started to effect his rationality and mental awareness of danger. Of course, Archer just feels helpless in this scenario; he didn't even get to see dumb Shirou bleeding out in a hallway!

While I will admit, the fights are kind of short, I wanted to emulate just how lightning quick they were in the Visual Adaptations I've seen. That and, this is the beginning of the Holy Grail War; the fight is meant to be short and sweet, to give you a taste of what's to come. And I promise you, I'll be having a nice amount of battles that'll be paced along with the length I want them to be at. Especially given how vastly diverged this timeline is from the other routes thanks to this AU's author...wait...

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed this upload and I hit expectations! ^^; See ya in the next update!


	3. My Resolve in the Dark

It was an unfathomable cruelty, this reunion was. Artoria Pendragon, better known as the Saber Servant in this war, hadn't the slightest inkling why she was summoned by another Emiya, let alone Kiritsugu's son. The memories of a decade's past left a stain of resentment and contempt for the man ever since she was sent back to her personal Hell. Only the sound of his beckoning call that gave her a light of hope brought her yearning ideal back to the fore and allowed her to manifest into this world yet again.

She defended this boy, Shirou, from a pursuing Lancer Servant -whom she had easily deduced his identity while he failed to do the same- and let loose pent-up frustration and the angst of failure in her previous participation. It was only through boundless luck that she survived his Noble Phantasm, leaving a wound in her shoulder that slowly healed. Ignoring the blow, she commanded the Master to stay put as she deals with the others; only to find herself in this awkward position.

Adorned in her blue-white dressed gown, she rested on her knees and legs in a resting position before the low-end table as Illya was sipping warmed tea that Shirou had made for all those in the room. The man in red with white hair was instructed to keep watch at the roof, ensuring they wouldn't be ambushed a second time this evening. Unlike the others, simply looking at him didn't stir any memories and that made her cautious around the other Servant; regardless, as long as her Master was hospitable to this girl, she hoped that the unfettered vendetta wouldn't be brought into the conversation.

"So, let me explain some basics, Shirou," Illya turned to look at her host, her neutral expression dictating that she wasn't looking down at him or was particularly impressed with his choice of actions tonight. "That mark on your hand has what's called Command Seals. They are precious resources and allow you to utilize orders on the cusp of True Magic, forcing your will on a Servant to do nearly any pragmatic task required of her. Use them all up, and you stop being her Master in all but technicality, leaving your Servant vulnerable and unable to follow your commands."

Shirou blankly blinked, looking apprehensive at the mark now very much in plain view to himself and Saber. Sure enough there was a faded outline, like rust or crusty flakes of blood, where an etching once was. Rubbing his hand, he could tell it wasn't a scar or that he was in any real pain other than that ominous pulse he felt when he 'commanded' Saber to 'stop'. Looking over at his Servant, she nodded with affirmation.

"What she says is correct," She interceded, her eyes locking with his as pools of emerald glinted behind the stoicism her visage retained. "Without Command Seals, our pact would be limited and there is a possibility that other Masters might take advantage of that."

"H-Hold on!" He exclaimed, looking between the two incredulously. "I-I don't think I like the connotation of me having a servant of anybody; also, how am I in this?! What even IS this?! Why are you-?"

"Shirou," Illya intoned, her voice remaining calm and her eyes staring straight through him. "I know this may difficult for such a novice mage as yourself to understand but you're going to have to sit there and listen quietly. If you don't, I'm going to leave here and you're going to have to deal with your own neophyte status without my help. Is that fathomable to you?"

Saber scowled at Illya, finding her attitude to be nothing like the brief scene she had bore over a decade ago. Gone was the child full of bright light and a hope-filled promise; along with Kiritsugu's dream. At the remembrance of the man who she had mixed feelings about, along with his wife -mother of this child- she looked to Shirou with a reserved expression that hid her emotions on the matter. Closing her eyes, exhaled smoothly from the nostrils, keeping her mind at the task of hand and didn't speak out, even if she desperately wanted to.

Seeing the red-headed boy and his Servant not protest, she continued after another measured sip from the teacup, "To explain in small words for you to understand, what you've gotten yourself into is a magical contest set down by the Einzbern, the Matou and the Tohsaka fam-"

"Wait, Rin's in this too-?!" Shirou began to ask before Illya fixed a nasty glare that made him recoil and halt his wording. Sitting back upright, he sighed and bowed his head in apology. "Please, continue."

"As I was saying, those three families set this up many years ago as a means of diplomatically compromising to acquire a particular artifact of importance in the world of magic: the Holy Grail," She continued, now looking a bit monotone as she explained this part, almost as if she was hiding disgust at the mention of this holy treasure of myth and religion. "With it, any single person winning this conflict -the Holy Grail War-, will be able to actualize anything they desire, provided the grail can factually construct it within its own reason. This is the 5th War and the selection process usually governs the most exceptional of Magus to become a Master, but then there are cases like you who don't have an ounce of talent or skill in the field."

Racking his brain, Shirou tried to understand what this implied. He had wanted to learn the Magecraft since he found out his dad was a Magus, but Kiritsugu refused on principle. Relenting after tenacity, he only taught him so much and he had only done enough on a daily basis to keep himself fresh and active in using his own trade skills. As he stood, his brief encounter with Lancer at his home showed him just how out of his depth he was in comparison to even the staunchest of mages.

Seeing him hesitate, Illya sighed, and waved a hand towards Saber, turning her task of discussion to the patient Servant, "Saber, I'm pretty sure you were summoned unceremoniously and haven't established a solid pact with Shirou. Is that right?"

"As much as I'm remiss to admit this, yes," Saber lowered her head, looking conflicted at the very least as she confess her feelings on the matter. "I don't know how I should feel about this given we haven't officially made it clear where we stand. And given how limited my abilities are, it'd be dishonest if I couldn't point out that there would be other qualified Masters who could bring out my full potential."

"I'd be more than willing to extend my hand and take you off my sweet Shirou's hands," Illya proffered with a sly grin, making Saber furrow her brows with suspicion at the young woman's taunting expression. She knew of the Heroic Spirit's background as the King of Knights, the alleged 'King Arthur' of history's myth and her yearning for the Holy Grail of actual legitimacy tied her heavily into her desires to retrieve it as a Servant, she suspected. "After all, I'm of a premium breed of Magus that far exceeds Shirou. I don't like sounding mean, but it's just a matter of fact."

"I didn't even know you WERE a Mage until tonight!" Shirou exclaimed, his voice full of confusion and a twinge of betrayal echoed in his eyes.

"Do you advertise your magical talents to just anybody?" She asked, earning a satisfying slump of silence from the sighing red-haired boy.

Finally, Saber raised her blue-sleeved right hand, and closed her eyes as she drew attention to herself.

"It's true, the Einzbern family is an old one and has fostered a heritage of adept magical crafting of specific types that make them an undisputed candidate as a higher quality master," She began, making Shirou twitch a little -was it hurt, or acknowledgement?- but she ignored it as she addressed Illya chiefly between the two. "If I swore allegiance to you, I'm confident that you could bring out my full potential if not produce an even greater quality of my own abilities with your boundless supply of mana."

Smiling with childish pride, she crossed her arms and nodded with affirmation, "I knew you'd see thing from my point of view."

"However," She continued, making the girl's smile diminish and replaced with a look of annoyance as her lips contorted into a grimace. "I think it's unfair for us to tell someone not raised or trained for this kind of divine contest how he should feel about this or whom I should be fostering my trust and strength. It'd be more appropriate and customary to find the mediator of this Holy Grail War, so he can fully explain the proper protocol and procedures," Turning to look at Shirou with a mask of stoicism, she nodded to him with acknowledgement. "If you feel after all is said and done you wish to be kept out of this conflict, he'll arrange for your protection while the war's duration lasts."

Keeping out the part that she'd prefer if the one who summoned her was her Master, Saber studied Shirou's visible pensiveness. Crossing his own arms, he furrowed his brow and closes his eyes, his right leg bouncing a little bit as he comprehended what was discussed. After a daunting minute of silence, she looked over at Illya whose on face was an unreadable indifference but a clear contempt was seen in her deep red eyes; a lingering hatred that burned enough to make Saber's skin bristle at noticing the sight.

"I think I should see what this whole thing is about," Shirou spoke decisively, turning with a determined look at Saber with a hesitant smile. "I may be way out of my depth, but I feel responsible for dragging you into this. I want to know what this is all about before I make any drastic commitment, if you know what I mean?"

"That is a fair answer," She replied, a smallest of smiles gracing her face before blankly addressing the blank-emotive Illya. "Do you know where the mediator presides?"

"I've been here long enough to know the lay of the land, yes," She answered with a chill to her voice, her eyes looking to Shirou with a look of disappointment before smiling almost too sweetly at the pair. "It's not that far away, so let's get to it!~"

Disregarding her flip of attitude, the pair decided to dress for the travel ahead of them. Shirou adorned himself in clothes that weren't so wreaking of dirt and blood from the scrapes he got from his Lancer encounter; a long sleeved collared jacket with dark blue outlines surrounding the white, over a blank white tee beneath and a pair of jeans along with his worn shoes. Due to the limitations of Artoria's condition she couldn't disappear into mana form so Shirou found a yellow poncho to use as a makeshift covering to keep anyone's initial preview unaware of her true origin. Illya continued wearing her purple furred hat coat and skirt with matching boots, trekking lackadaisically ahead of them once they left the Emiya Estate.

The walk was a cool one, the temperature being tolerable for this time of year as the season would be on the cusp of changing into Spring not too far away. Street lights illuminated their path from the suburbs to the riverside road, passing by the bridge with rays of artificial light guiding their paved path while the sound of streaming water and the wind caressing trees to the grass nearby. Illya hummed a melodic tune as she'd occasionally stand on a balance of the rampart between the pavement before hopping in skips between various stepping stones, making up mental kid games on their way forward. It put a smile on Shirou's face, staring idly at the innocent joy the white-haired girl gained from simple things. It was just like yesterday that he took her on a walk by the river the other weekend, engaging in fun odd end activities and general laid back fun.

"You like her, don't you?" Saber's inquiry penetrated his idle walk, making him turn briefly at her direction with owlish blinks. Seeing that she wasn't poking fun -her face again emoting a serious countenance beneath the yellow poncho's hood-, he cleared his throat and kept his voice down as to not alert the girl skipping ahead of them. "How well do you know that girl?"

"Obviously, not enough," He admitted, doing his best to continue walking despite the unexpected conversation piece. "Like, she came to my home saying she was looking for her mother and talked about how it was the last place she knew she was at," He explained, unaware of the sudden paleness overcoming Saber's face as he continued walking ahead and talking without worry. "Pretty sure she made up the sob story about her running out of money and having nowhere to go but...I dunno, I just feel like we've got some sorta tie to each other. Like, call me cheesy, but it feels like fate brought us together and it doesn't feel like coincidence that her mom was here ten years ago at the same time as well the great tragedy."

"Tragedy?" Saber rasped out, her eyes peeking around the corner of her hood and bangs, a little afraid to look him in the eyes as her mind reeled with the implications of what was told to her.

"Yeah, I kinda was in this huge fire and everybody in the fire died...but me," He shrugged, a feigned smile adorned on his face as he looked over at her with a weak chuckle. "I know it's kind of lame to brush something like that aside but it's the truth. And since there was someone else living at my adopted home I can't help but wonder why Kiritsugu never mentioned it."

"I see," She intoned, licking her lips and looking away.

"Why? Did I say something wrong?"

"I'm not sure what to make of it," She confirmed, her gaze steeled towards Shirou with an intense vibe that made him widen his eyes back. "Be careful around that girl. Whoever she was to you before was all an act, I assure you. I don't know what her intentions are but any of them connecting you or I are not in our benefit."

Turning away to look at Illya's back, he'd see her walking backwards, staring directly at him. It almost made him jump if not for the sweet smile playing on her lips and the shine of sparkling rubies enhanced by the moon's light from the cloudy, star-filled sky. Exhaling out, he smiled back and waved at her, earning a wave back before she twirled around on her heel and continued to frolic ahead without worry.

"I'm not sure if that's all true, Saber," He finally answered her, turning to look at the frowning Servant with a relaxed grin, shrugging to extenuate his point. "I mean, she's a bit more sassy and mature than I thought she was, but she can't be evil. Right?"

"You're far too trusting, Master," She replied, sighing before looking ahead at the girl's back, seeing for a moment what Shirou wouldn't. A single red eye looking over the shoulder, glowing past a mask of darkness as the moon is obscured for the briefest of moments and a sly smile enveloped in the wafting lack of luminescence. Emerald eyes blinked, dilating, as the cloud revealed the moon's rays over a innocent smiling girl as her hands swayed gently by her coat covered sides with her skirt swishing to and fro.

Saber hoped she was seeing too much into nothing, but this girl and her own history in the prior war, felt engendered into a far more sinister plan at work.

Their journey continued on, the silence caressed by Illya's singing and humming as she led the way with her Archer keeping watching from a distance. Saber would occasionally regard their current red-coated ally with wariness but since no words were exchanged she chose not to incite a potential argument. She saw the road curve by the river and up a slight incline near a divvying path to a wooded graveyard. Walking past the woods they'd see the steeple of a church in the distance and Shirou raised a brow at this, muttering his confusion about why they'd go there.

"The Church acts as the mediator of the Holy Grail, being the only non-biased faction that can hold the Mages accountable of any egregious actions in the moment before the Association can," Illya answered him, surprising Shirou her awareness to something he didn't raise his voice about. Looking back at him, she giggled and nodded ahead. "The man in charge this time around is Kirei Kotomine. He's the priest whose going to explain the rules, what's involved and perhaps protect you if you don't want to participate."

"Kirei Kotomine is here?" Artoria echoed with worry in her voice.

"Do you know him, Saber?" Shirou asked with curiosity.

"He was a Master in the previous war. He was strong, and dangerous," She intoned back, looking to the red-haired teenager with caution. "Make sure you're on your guard when around this man."

"Is there anyone I shouldn't be afraid of?"

"Not really, no," The blonde, poncho-robed woman replied without skipping a beat. "Safer that way."

"We're here!" Illya exclaimed, continuing to skip ahead till she slowed into a walk, her voice quieting to barely being audible to the two behind her. "And it seems we're not alone."

Arriving at the church, the trio would see something peculiar standing outside its gate. An assortment of armored figures stood in front of the iron gate circling what looked like an impressive sized religious site, all looking in various directions and each other. When they got closer, they all turned and stared, remaining eerily silent. Each of them bore impressive armor of European accent, with flavors of designs and aesthetics that matched their origins. Getting closer, Saber would see each of them wore armor that was recognizable especially to her.

One was a tall mountainous figure, clad in deep emerald sheen of plate-mail, with only the slightest hints of chain mail covering the weak spots and a cone-shaped Bascinet with slits emanating a slight light where the eyes presided and vapor escaping the holes around the aforementioned cone's shell. He had a giant ax of the same hue of his armor, the long pole handle held over his shoulder made a scraping sound as it readied its armored grip over it. It was by far the most imposing of the three.

The second one was a horned knight, bearing red accents over white and grey plate mail over the whole of its body. With angular pauldrons and a jagged point for a breastplate, the kama skirt wrapped around the plated legs down to the boots made for impressive defense all around, and a iconic looking sword whose first few inches from the guard up act almost like a brace or a deterrent sheathe of sorts. With its weapon impaled downward, hands folding over one another on its pommel, it regarded Saber with an unfettered anger that she couldn't place as to why it felt...familiar.

The last of them stood off to the side, looking between all of them with more alertness than the rest. It bore a sinister energy, almost otherworldly off its ebony dyed armor, plating covering its arms, chest and sides in dull bronze segments while curtain of chain mail protected the pelvis down with the legs armored as much as the rest of its form. Narrow black slits hid its eyes diagonally and black slit where its mouth presided was hidden in shadows, the neck circled by a ring of arched plates. Most intimidatingly was the pair of jagged horns that, unlike the other armored individual, was pointed upward with edges akin to a blade's. Its own weapon was unseen, arms crossed over its chest and seemed to address them sooner than the other two.

"You may enter to see the priest," Its voice rang out, like vibrating steel, pointing its gaze now to Saber. "But your Servant stays. No qualms and we shall remain civil. Pursue this matter and there will be a conflict. Understand?"

"Are you challenging me, tin man?" Illya inquired, turning to look at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"No, I am merely warning you," It continued to speak, vaporous breath spewing from its ominously designed helm as unseen eyes glared at them. "Our Master wishes not to start anything near the mediator's premises. If you wish to do battle, we will take this elsewhere, but do not disturb this neutral ground."

" _He's an honorable guy to not engage us in a fight right away,_ " Shirou thought, furrowing his brow at the other two not making any move to threaten or prepare for attack. " _If it was that Lancer guy, there'd be no question about there being a fight. This Holy Grail War is more nuanced than I thought._ "

"Fine," Illya stroked her hair with a hand in a flippantly dismissive manner. "She'll stay here. We just want to have a chat inside. We won't bother your Master either."

"Follow your Mage Laws and I'll have no grudge to bear," He spoke plainly.

"You heard him," She chirped up, raising a hand to gesture in a beckoning come hither manner while smiling pleasantly at the redhead. "Let's be going."

"Alright," Shirou nodded, looking to Saber for approval. Once she nodded back, he walked up to the gates and pushed them aside, letting Illya walk in step beside him. Taking the briefest of glances over his shoulder he'd take in the scenery of foreboding coming from this holy structure. The grass was neatly trimmed, the air had a certain purity to it and from what he could tell as he walked further there was a magic field surrounding it past the fence itself. No doubt it was to either keep intruders out or inform the caster of its presence.

Approaching the door of the church, the young man took a deep breath. Pushing the large double doors open the pair would see a moon-lit interior, casting dark shadows over the vacant wooden pews lining up from the back, bordered by wooden support columns all the way to the pulpit. Currently, there was a young woman there that Shirou recognized after she turned to look back at him.

"You-!" She exclaimed, brown hair flowing in her twist on her heel, clothed in a silken black hooded cloak over her prestigious Magus red suit-jacket, affixed with a red tie over a white collared undershirt leading to a black skirt with nylon leggings to a pair of fancy brown shoes. Before she could speak aloud, the other figure beside her -a tall man in black-grey apparel with a single cross dangling around his neck of brass hue- raised a hand to stave her immediate reaction.

"Welcome, young Masters," Kirei Kotomine greeted with a pleased smile, cold eyes analyzing them with a hungry curiosity, waving his extended hand with emphasized interest. "Are you here to discuss something in particular. I was just in the middle of finishing a discussion with this fine participant-"

"Sure, barge in why don't you?" She spat, harrumphing with crossed arms and a hair-flipping turn of her head. "It's not like I've been trying to get this man to do his job."

"Like I've said, Rin," He replied informally, making Shirou's left eye arch along with Illya's. "I cannot extend my authority when nothing has happened. The best you can do is find a means of using your family's influence to contact the proper channels and get them evacuated. Unless there's been an actual breaking of grail rules, I cannot step in."

"And I've been telling you, if the Bounded Field goes off as planned it will be too late!" She exclaimed, throwing an arm to the side, unaware of Illya's sudden change of expression. "It's going to kill dozens, if not hundreds of people! And don't give me that bullshit about my family! Your the one who fucked up everything and I can barely use contacts for what I need, let alone get people to move out of an obvious danger zone!"

"I don't think it's appropriate to speak of such tentative matters in front of carnivorous ears, Rin," He calmly asserted back, looking back from her to the pair standing not more than a handful of meters away.

"It's fine," She unfolded her hands, now looking over at them with an intimidating stare at Shirou. "Now I can feel comfortable listening in; equivalent exchange of information, after all."

" _What a sly one you are, Tohsaka_ ," Illya thought with a teasing smile, her expression only serving to irk the brunette Magus. " _Then again, I'm already ahead of the game in that category_."

"With that out of the way," Kirei continued, waving his hand again at the pair. "Let's start over. I'm Kirei Kotomine, the current mediator of the Fifth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City. I assume you both are here to talk matters about the ongoing war?"

"Yes," Illya began, making a polite curtsy with the hem of her dress plucked by the edges of her fingers. "I'm Illyasviel Von Einzbern and I have with me a talentless amateur who may or may not to excuse himself from this conflict."

"Oh?" The Priest breathed out with amusement, smiling a bit twisted in a way that was almost mocking to the red-haired boy's eyes. "While it is true that in the rules stated that one may disqualify one's own participation in the war, you forfeit any potential of reentering or acquiring the prize. Leaving so soon before the war has even amounted to a single causality is unheard of for this conflict, but I'd allow it if that's what you truly wish...?"

Hearing the man pause with an incline of his head, Shirou scratched the back of his head and awkwardly introduced himself, keeping a wary eye on Rin's everpresent stare at his face, "Uh, yeah, not really liking how you're putting it but it's not inaccurate. I'm a bit in the dark on this whole thing due to the fact my father taught me little and didn't speak much about it," He spoke briefly, earning a slight pinch to his side that he grimaced at. Looking to Illya, she made a motion of her curtsy as she glared in a head-cocking fashion to the priest and he palmed his face, turning to look back at Kirei. "Right, you might not know me so my name is Shirou. Shirou Emiya."

"Emiya?" Kirei inquired, almost in sync with Rin as she now fully recognized the high school boy's name. "As in, son of Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"How do you know that name?" Shirou asked, blinking warily as Illya's features immediately became alert to what was said.

Chuckling gutturally, Kirei put his hands behind his back, clenching the leftmost palm with the right as he looked at him knowingly, "It's because Kiritsugu Emiya was the name of the man who fought in the previous Holy Grail War; the very same one that took place ten years ago."

"Ten years...ago?" Shirou mouthed, eyes dilating and his mouth parting. "No. It can't be!"

"What?" Rin asked in particular, wondering what this subject that left her in the dark was about. "What happened ten years ago?"

"The Fuyuki Fire," The boy answered, making the brunette girl recoil at the mention of the tragedy that transpired in the last decade. "It happened so quickly and without warning that there was hardly anyone left standing from the ruins. They chalked it up as an unexplained quickfire, started from some unnatural weather phenomena but..."

"Ah yes," Kirei answered with a grim smile on his face. "That is the result of the failure met by your father. I remember it as if it was seconds ago," Looking past the boy, he saw the outline of the man as if he was standing before him. There, in that illuminated basement, his wild hair and loose black suit with a single Thompson Arms Contender aimed at him. A flood of blood-like ooze swept over them, a shot to the heart...and then, he awoke. "He was a ruthless assassin who showed no quarter, no mercy and used any means to dispose of his opponent. I found my equal in him, in ways not just physically but ideally. He wanted to save the world, and he and I nearly held it...but...it fell out of our reach. Thus, the unleashing of the grail's incomplete state ransacked Fuyuki and slew five hundred in its wake, injuring nearly a thousand more in the collateral."

Everything suddenly became clearer to Shirou's head.

Illya's mother coming here to the home he and Kiritsugu would live in was perhaps where she stayed with him as well. She must have died in the resulting conflict, and that's why Illya came to him years later; not only that, but she also came knowing this grail war would come about in the same place. The failure to acquire the grail must have been what had made his father so sad, and empty, only finding peace when Shirou made that promise. And if this grail was really at fault for that accident that robbed him of his previous life and led to Kiritsugu's demise, then...

"We're not here for a history lesson of your incompetence, Overseer," Illya spat venomously, stirring Shirou out of his trauma fueled stupor and bringing both a gawking Rin and a humored Kirei at the icy look she gave the priest. "We're here for you to explain what the grail war is."

Grinning crookedly, he bowed his head, "Apologies, this old man can hardly stop himself from indulging in a little tale of the past. In regards to you, Shirou Emiya," He looked to the conflicted boy, turning around and walking towards the pulpit, allowing his voice to echo about the church's interior. "This is a clandestine tradition that's been taking place for hundreds of years here in Japan. The founders of this event created it in the purpose of achieving an ultimate wish-granting device, fueled by the ritual sacrifice of astral projected representatives of mythological and historical creatures, characters to icons and symbols of human kind. Seven Servants are summoned and, depending on preparation and catalyst involved, are arranged in the Seven Classes.

"Saber, Lancer, Rider, Archer, Caster, Berserker and Assassin. With these spiritual beings given cognizance and purpose by the holy grail, they're meant to help the master to find victory in combat against all other masters. The victor is decided after six Servants are eliminated, leaving the Master and his or her Heroic Spirit to acquire the Holy Grail so they may each be granted a wish. Your Command Seals are proof that its abilities are beyond the Modern Thaumaturgy abilities conceived by the Magecraft you or I would use.

"If you were to embark on this harrowing journey, you must keep in mind the Mage Laws of the grail war. You are discouraged from fighting in daylight, for obvious reasons of exposure. Secondly, involving a tantamount of civilian casualties is forbidden, so keep collateral damage to a minimum and preferably fight where no one can see you. Lastly, if you are seen, eliminate the witness if you can because it's a headache if too much word is gotten out.

"Now, is that everything? Or do you have any questions for me?"

Shirou thought long and hard throughout the debriefing. This was a contest he considered akin to a underground fight tournament but involving monsters of incredible power and their familiars to kill as they see fit. He was lucky he was the only person that Lancer saw, knowing others in his school might have not been as lucky as he was in avoiding being slain by him. Then again, just how many more fights were going to happen that he could help prevent?

Realizing what he had to do, he held up his marked hand and said with determination, "I'm going to fight as a Master!"

"Are you serious?!" Rin shrieked in sync with Illya, causing both girls to glare at each other for a moment before turning back to Shirou. "Didn't you hear anything that Kirei said? Monsters wearing human skin are fighting in this war. You will be slaughtered!"

"I'm not disagreeing with Tohsaka here. This is a bad idea, Shirou," Illya advised with a wary stare.

"This isn't just about whether or not I win. I just want to keep whatever happened ten years ago from ever occurring again!" Shirou turned to look at Illya, saying with an intense insistence that made her pause. "I don't want that kind of trauma to happen to anyone else! This war will not end like the last one and I'll make sure that I keep a massacre from happening!"

"It may be impossible," Kirei warned, getting the teenager's attention as his smiling face turned to address him from the pulpit. "Are you sure you want to take such a harrowing journey?"

"I'm sure!"

"Then I wish you the best in your efforts of securing the Holy Grail," He told him, nodding his head to the three present. "Now, it is late and I wish to rest. Go ahead and head on home you three; war's just begun and you have a long road ahead of you. Of that, I am sure."

Illya bit her lip and suppressed the urge to strike at Shirou. This was her opportunity to bring her a step closer to ending the war in a decisive maneuver. If she possessed someone as powerful as Artoria Pendragon, she'd be unstoppable. Clenching her fists she turned away from Shirou as she began to walk out with Rin trailing behind, leaving the redhead in the middle.

Exiting church, they'd leave Kirei Kotomine turning his back on them, smiling with carnal delight at the thought of seeing another Emiya in this war of his.

* * *

Saber had waited tortuously long. With the silent three armored guards all glaring at her she felt like she was in a terrible position. The best she could hope for was that the meeting wouldn't take too much longer and they can leave to a place of fortuitious space and open terrain. If she was to fight them, she'd appreciate the assistance of Archer, as fighting all three of them in current condition would be potentially perilous for her. Examining their mana leaking of the three's prana, she was able to deduce something interesting about them.

None of them were truly Servants. They had the make-up, build and aura of Servants, that was true, but they didn't seem to command an authority or iconography that spoke of one wielding an authentic Noble Phantasm. Imitations or duplicates, they seemed more like from the way they had almost a united foreboding silence that seemed to be their joint personality. The only one that spoke and seemed more alike to herself in both mana and form was the black plated knight that continued to keep his posture from earlier.

Hearing the doors of the church, she turned around to see the three walking out. Illya looked like she was barely containing the obvious foul mood she was in. Shirou looked a bit nervous but, calmer, than when he entered. The third was the woman she hadn't seen before but she could tell was perhaps the three armored entities' Master.

But upon her looking at the armored specters, they had completely evaporated without a trace. The sight was unnerving but she felt no trace of their presence, as if their duty had concluded and so too was their presence at the front of the church. With the gate pushed aside, Illya groaned as she kicked the ground with Shirou walking a little past Saber, Rin just barely registering in her periphery as she pulled back her poncho's hood.

"Have you reached a resolution, Master?" She inquired, ever curious about the outcome of what went on inside.

"I've...found out some things inside. Rough things. Some of which involved Kiritsugu," He said, letting the cool wind of the night air blow his hair and ruffle his long-sleeved jacket. "But, now a lot more things make sense. The fire wasn't just random coincidence but something went horribly wrong. That's why," He turned, addressing Saber with an extended hand, grinning confidently at her. "I'm choosing to fight with you officially. It doesn't matter what my dad was, I'll fulfill his dream of becoming a hero down this path and keep history from repeating itself in my home."

Smiling back, she grabbed his hand with an armored gauntlet and shook firmly back, nodding to him with acknowledgement, "Then I shall fight to the best of my ability until my dying breath for you, Master."

"Eh, if you'd be okay, I'd prefer Shirou instead."

"Ah, if that's what you wish, I shall make it so," She replied, almost too obediently. "Shirou."

"Well, that was fun," Rin mentioned, causing him to look at the popular girl of his school with a raised brow. "Just for tonight, I'll take it easy on you. Given we use the same road to go home, I think we can just enjoy a casual stroll without blows being exchanged."

"That sounds okay," The red-haired Magus nodded with a half-smile. "Thanks, Tohsaka."

"Don't mention it, Emiya," She hair-flipped, walking ahead of the pair by a few meters. "I _am_ your enemy, after all. Consider this some mercy for being so open about your intentions."

"I'm standing right here," Illya sneered. She felt incensed at being ignored in favor of the weaker Master who just had a humored grin on his face at the rich girl threatening his life. Looking at him, the red-haired teen looked around and recoiled, surprised at the angry look she had from her normally soft ruby eyes; now a blazing crimson through sheer will.

"Let's get going," Saber proffered with a flip of her poncho hood over her head. "I'm still not fully recovered from my battle with Lancer and I rather not dally while we're out in the open in the middle of the night."

"I second that," He murmured, walking beside his Servant with Illya marching ahead and Rin already several more strides ahead of the rest.

Following her lead, they'd use the road to walk on home, feeling the coolness of the air waft over them in a gentle breeze. The goal of theirs was uncertain with revelations unveiled and more questions left unanswered, but determination swelled within the man of interest. A pact solidified by a promise, Saber's resolve would strengthen her place in this world and give her confidence in the battle ahead. There was hope among the pair where there was doubt and infuriation shared by the other two young women.

Then, Illya felt her own stewing mind broken by a ringing of Archer's mental link provoking her attention.

" **Archer, what is it?** "

" **Sorry to ruin your foul mood, but we've got a situation,** " His voice seriously intoned, making Illya stiffen and look to her left. Just as she did, Saber herself and Rin turned.

"Shirou, someone's using Magecraft not of this party nearby," She informed him aloud, causing Shirou's mood to twist into alarm. Fists tightened at his sides as his eyes locked onto hers. "Your orders?"

Inhaling deeply, he sighed and nodded to her with affirmation, "Let's check it out. Lead the way."

"Of course. Keep close," She cautioned, rushing ahead with him as Rin and Illya all ran off the path towards the woods.

A winding path for hikers was seen, partially illuminated by lunar rays spreading through the skeletal tops of trees, foliage and soil crunching noisily as they rushed towards the site in question. Coming ever-so closer they'd feel a sudden ominous pulse which all three Mages remembered from the school. Shirou shuddered, Rin glowered and Illya pondered on who was responsible. Coming into a clearing overlooking a graveyard, the red-cloaked back of Archer was seen, his eyes fixed grimly at a grisly display of macabre cruelty.

Of whom it was on made stomachs lurch and heads spin; with an exceptional one find amusement.

A young man in a student's uniform was strung up on a crucifix stand of bloodied, jagged spikes. Hands were stretched out to either side, palms pierced from the ground up while the feet were pierced along with the legs up to the thighs. Shoulders hooked him on a stand that held him upright, his head hanging as his crown was dirtied with soot and dried blood, showing his head injury to be older than the rest. Rasping for air, the group could see the faintest of rises and falls of breathing from the strung up teenager.

Raising his face up, Shirou's face contorted in horror while Rin's looked with fright.

"S-S-Shinji?!" He cried out, already moving to free him. Stopped by a raised arm of Saber past her poncho, he exchanged a wide-eyed glance with the stoic glare of Saber that looked on with seriousness. Grimacing, he plead with her with a turn of his body. "Please, let me go, Saber! That's my classmate! Sakura's brother and my friend!"

"It's not safe, Shirou!" She insisted with a raise of her voice, looking back at the pierced boy with sternness. "Did you not feel the Bounded Field? Someone set that up, more evidently to keep people from coming in and to lure Mages like you here. He's a lure for an inevitable trap."

"She's right," Rin motioned with her head. She grimly put a hand over her mouth as she tried to keep her wits about herself at the unholy posture of even an unsightly boy like Shinji. "It's sick, but effective. He's more than likely has some sort of spell that'll be set off the moment we get close enough to free him."

"Then we put him out of his misery," Illya responded despondently, side-glancing Archer with an authoritative air about her that Shirou's never seen before. "Finish him cleanly, if possible."

"Hey, let's talk about this-!"

"Are you sure that's wise, Master? What if the Spell rebounds my arrows if I strike him?" He argued, ignoring Shirou with an emphasized gesture.

"Then what do you suppose we should do? Just walk away?" Rin asked, now crossing her arms and frowning at Archer. "Is that how you handle all your problems or is cowardice part of your flighty nature, Archer?"

"No, I'm just thinking pragmatically," He corrected, unfettered by her sharp tongue. "Ordinary Magecraft could be dealt with easily by someone of my caliber. However, a Servant's power is at work here. If we act too carelessly, we could accidentally trigger something we can't undo and we'd all be in trouble."

"Then let's test that theory of yours," The Tohsaka jeered, raising her right arm and bracing it with her free left palm at the inside of the elbow. A burgundy orb glowed around the fingertips, exciting the air as it became the size of a baseball. Priming it, she was about to launch it when a rasping voice caused them all to stop cold.

"S-S-Sa...S-Sa..."

"Shinji?" Shirou turned, Saber unnerved by the craning motion of the cobalt-haired boy looking up in their direction. His eyes, even from this distance, had a distilled look and had the faintest of red in his irises. Gritting his teeth, he ducked beneath Saber's arm while she was disturbed, causing the Heroic Spirit to gape and cry out after him as he slid down the dirt hill in his attempt to approach him. "Hold on! I'm going to get you free!"

"That idiot!" Illya heard Rin say, her own eyes wide rubies at the boneheaded look while Archer bared his teeth with visible frustration.

"S-Shirou," Shinji choked out, his face construing into an expression of fear and shock. "S-SAK-!"

He choked on that last word as his mouth puked blood, his body twisting about as dozens of more spiked protrusions ejected from his body in an eviscerating explosion of shrapnel that all fired in an uncanny flight towards him and his nearby Servant. Skidding on his heels, he raised his arms up in a futile defensive posture, feeling the metal grip of his Servant on his collar and throw him back into the hillside. The bloodied projectiles were deflected in an array of expert swordsmanship, arcs of air and light shattering the crude spears in their wake with only a few scraping by her armored shoulders and sides, exploding the dirtied hillside and soil nearby.

As the dust formed a cloud over them, Shirou felt both foolish and mortified. The man he's known since he was young was brutally murdered right before his eyes, calling for his help and unable to rescue him. Pushing himself up from the soil, he gingerly touched his left shoulder, feeling the force he was thrown had bruised him but he was none worse for wear. Peering through the dust cloud, he thought he could see clearer once it dispersed; instead, a fog began to roll in, following a sudden change in atmosphere.

Breathing out vapor, he'd see that the clouds were obscured and a daunting shadow rose up in an amorphous creeping unison, a disembodied voice calling out to them in a way that entranced and petrified the boy.

" **It seems I judged you correctly, Shirou Emiya.** "

Emerging from the darkness came a tall figure, wrapped in a cloak of black whose tatters ended in shreds that ebbed in shadow and mist. Beneath it was a suit-jacket of sorts, bearing a collar of old fashioned tailoring and stripes enamored down its surface with a fur-lacing along the outlines of the shoulders down the front of its unbuttoned press. With similar seamless slacks down to rich traveler boots, pale skin enamored the face of this tall man with a sharp visage, the strong nose resembling the angle of pointed ears with cheeks having lost all semblance of normal hue eons ago. Framed by silver hair whose locks draped over his shoulders in front and down behind his back, the man spread his teeth, revealing pronounced canines akin to knives that made Shirou's blood run cold and his face darken with sweat beading down his brow.

"To think you'd boast such a formidable Servant is quite fortunate for someone as unfortunate as you, young whelp," He commented with a haunting laugh, his golden eyes shifting to red as he looked at the blonde woman and the others observing from the hillside. "You've certainly came with quite the crowd, though," He'd briefly raise his voice, his sight set on those standing on the hill. "Perhaps you'd all like a chance to cross blades with me?"

"That depends," Illya called out, her eyes narrowing skeptically at the new Servant. "To whom do we owe the pleasure?"

A chilling laugh bristled the cold air, making Rin look dubiously around the graveyard as mana began to circle around the grave. As his laugh swelled, his aura discharged outward, mana spiking in such a dramatic fashion that it looked like an inferno of black ebbing blood dyed fire. Rising up from the old resting places they assumed was untouched upon arrival, far more bestial and monstrous looking forms all crawled out and hunched over with snarling, drooling visages with faces akin to more like shrunken man-bat hybrids than anything else. Numbering up in the dozens, they soon were greeted by a small army of ghouls, fueled by mana and ravaged by the age-old disease that sparked paranoia and fear centuries longer than this Servant's legend has existed.

The Legend of Vlad Dracule, Son of the Devil.

"Now please, do keep me entertained!" He challenged loudly, the moonlight peeking out from the clouds, revealing the decrepit and decaying flesh of all those creatures of the night facing the assortment of Masters and Servants. The handsome, chilling visage of who Illya could only assume was Berserker, grinned ear to pointed ear as he waved to them in a beckoning manner to all Servants standing before them. Rin readied to let loose spells or contact her Servant, Illya her own fluent magic and Archer his bow. Even Saber looked stoic in the face of such terrifying odds and implied horror awaiting her.

The only one who stood, paralyzed with fear and uncertainty, was Shirou Emiya.

* * *

 **A/N:** And, here's where I'll end it! Yes, I'm sure you all have been dying (pun intended) to know what was to become of Shinji Matou or when Berserker or Rider will show up. Well, I answered at least some of those questions at least in ways I'm sure you didn't expect. Shinji's death has been something I've been planning since before I started this story, but various cuts (Ha!) were thrown out for a more thematic piece that'd set the stage for the fight that'd replace Ber-ser-carr and I thought what better way to start it then a brutal murder of someone EVERYONE hates?

In regards with Vlad here, I found out that no one has ever done (both in Nasuverse and out) a proper Berserker Class of him. His FGO version is one of those weird Hybrid Classes where he's both Lancer AND Berserker(?) so I chose to nix the Lancer half and recreate my idea for how he'd work. Due to the method of his summoning and his allotted Master, this guy is going to be a menace in every sense of the word. I hope you'll enjoy just how many problems he'll create just by existing in this war.

The three armored knights will be explained later, they do tie into Rin's Servant for sure so trust me on this that I do have plans for her and where that Servant is concerned. Whereas Illya's involvement will be pretty significant, Rin herself will not be prominent at the start (because this is Illya's 'Route'/Story, after all) but I'll try not to shove her to the wayside like Heaven's Feel did for the most part, or the latter part of Stay Night. Rider itself has been laid in the ground works since Chapter I, so I'm quite confident how that's going to pan out.

And until next time, we'll pick up with the badass fight near the graveyard! See you all in the next update!


	4. Lives At Stake

It was a banquet of the dead.

That was how Illya viewed the incoming hostiles that swarmed them from the upheaved graves that were lying still but minutes ago. Filled to the brim with mana, these transformed corpses were remodeled into a likeness bearing the mark of vampirism while still being animated decay. Necrotic energies gave them life and now they hungered for blood within anything of close reach; more specifically, those that their master has ordered them to consume.

"Here they come!" Rin cried out, already in her posture to let loose a string of spells. The ghouls moved swiftly, against the natural inclination of their decrepit bodies, hunched forward and dashing low to the earth. Firing a salvo of Gandr, the burgundy hued orbs moved with rapid excess rather than pinpoint accuracy due to the haste of her targets. Striking a few, she caused two to stumble in their tracks, disarming another and taking off the head of another.

Archer, in the meantime, had his own method. Without being heard, he crossed his arms and curled his hands back to be beside his head and manifesting four crimson dagger-like hilts in a flourish of mana. Jumping up into the air, he spun around like a top, letting loose the blades of singing steel that struck true in the immediate approaching wave of undead servants in key pressure points that caused them to collapse. Wailing out in horrific shrieks, Rin and Illya could see the Black Keys that were embedded into the eroding creatures, dying or pinned to the earth by the Projections EMIYA used.

"Careful," Archer warned, summoning more of the holy weapons in between his fingers, brandishing the blades in a discharge of mana in readiness as more approached them from the graveyard. "These creatures are a lot sturdier than standard ghouls. My Black Keys won't kill them unless I hit their head, but it will stun them long enough for you to fillet them."

"No need to fret, Archer," Illya gestured with a hand, unseen string twining around a charging ghoul around its appendages and neck with metal grinding on flesh sounds. Curling her fingers into a ballsed up fist, the limbs contorted into irregular angles, the head spinning backwards until finally a gruesome snap was heard. Tossing her wrist to the side, the arms, legs and head were torn off in a necrotic pile of limbs onto the hillside. "As long as we have the high ground, and maintain this formation, we have nothing to worry about."

Rin looked like she was about to say something before firing another volley of Gandr towards leaping ghouls. Combined with the speed and accuracy of Archer's thrown Black Keys, they too went down with fair ease, pinning them to the ground and allowing dismemberment to be a nonissue. What was troubling her was that the sheer total number didn't match what was sent up their way.

Or the amount sent to attack the fear-ridden Shirou Emiya locked at the base of the hill.

Illya could tell that it was taking up Saber's attention from the dangerous Heroic Spirit and to his army of walking dead minions. Thankfully her prowess with a blade and adept footwork enabled her to easily lop off arms, deflect claws and teeth from her multiple opponents. Swerving and ducking, she made sure to keep in mind of her master's condition and to ensure none that went after him would get the chance to get close. Dicing up what felt like a dozen, she stood erect and regained her senses.

All the while Vlad the Impaler clapped slowly with broad, sardonic sweeps of his spindly fingers and broad palms.

"Very good, Saber! As expected of the most advantageous Class of the Four Knight Servants," He complimented, finishing the final clap with a visible rub of enticement. His teeth spread sinisterly, complementing the glow of crimson from his eyes as the mist-filled air shifted around his person. "Keeping in mind the safety of your master, making sure you keep a meaningful distance from me and watching for the unpredictable maneuvers of my servants all without breaking a sweat. Truly the marvel of the Supreme Servant!"

"Enough flattery, Berserker," Artoria replied, raising her invisible blade up by its Invisible Air mantle towards him pointedly. "If you truly intend to do battle, don't send these puppets of flesh. Fight me without involving the others, one on one."

"How noble, Saber. Just what I'd expect of a knight of such valor," Berserker replied with a mocking manner, bowing to her with an arm wrapped over his dress-shirt's front. Smiling downward, he'd angle his eyes to look up at her as the blonde swordsman's eyes widened. "Unfortunately for you, I've abandoned my honor when I was summoned in this manner."

A simultaneous surprise attack happened all at once from all points at the battlefield. What was once pinned bodies of rotten, mutated flesh contorted in place and rapidly writhed on the ground. Saber twisted on her heel, seeing some bodies angle up and gratuitously eject razor edged points from mouths, eyes and odd parts of their anatomy. In a bloody discharge of black outlined crimson light came a horde of stakes, aiming with far more precision and guidance than that of Shinji's Body Barb trap.

On top of the hill, Archer didn't even think as his Eye of the Mind informed him of the action before Saber had moved. Letting loose the Black Keys towards the bodies readying their payload, he quickly summoned his own pair of iconic swords and threw one in an expert cycling arc while rushing to Illya's side. Grasping the smaller girl by the collar he yanked her up past protest and began parrying the harrying slew of stakes while his thrown sword deflected ones sent near Rin's front that she wasn't able to avoid via quick dash backwards near the trunk of a tree and firing of Gandr at those that escaped.

At the same time, Saber had made her choice on how to handle the underhanded assault.

Casting aside her own preservation, she dashed all the way to Shirou, slashing and parrying stakes along the way. Some were shattered and made pings off her armor, the less plated areas received lacerations including her cheek and surface side of her left neck. Reaching him in what her master would believe was an instant, she turned around and released a mighty gust of Invisible Air to buffet the rest of the stakes, shredding the ground prone corpses and uprooting the soil with the gravestones all the way to Berserker.

Much to her surprise, his arm thrust through the torrent of magical wind and bisected through it without harm.

"A concealing magical wind, hm?" Berserker inquired, raising his hand to inspect it, as if one was to admire the texture of one's nails and shape of their fingers. "Such tripe to one who had mastered the elements in the past," Grinning, he clenched his fingers and unfurled them with a chilling song of grated bone imitating brandished metal. The sinking feeling in his stomach was made as the visage of a killer twisted on the Servant's face as his left hand had created curved knives out of what was human finger nails turned claws.

A single swipe and Saber's Instincts told her to evade but her back was to the red-haired teenager, still stiff from the trauma he was inflicted with. Staying her ground, she curved the weapon as a rushing crack in the air rammed straight towards her-

-cracking the shape of her armor, cutting flesh and bypassing the protective weave of wind sheathing her holy sword. Blood spewed out from her shoulder and armored chest, the golden shine marked with the etching of a long cut that was made through space past the air and into the soil around her in perfect definition. Grimacing, she refocused her Invisible Air around her weapon and kept up a guarded stance.

Just as Berserker evaporated like a mirage before her eyes. Eyes widened palpably, reacting on Instinct-guided reflex towards the phantom that lanced his hand out like a spear towards her sword. The strength of his clawed digits was enough to produce a horrid sounding concussion in the space between her and her opponent, blasting the soil apart and severing it between them. She stumbled back, her heels grinding across the earth in a bid to regain her composure as Vlad's ever-present grin stretched to nightmarish proportions.

"Come on, Saber!" He crowed out, shifting from view and transporting himself in an instant before the swordsman's eyes with another thrust of his left arm that she narrowly deflected with her magical blade. In the shower of sparks and brief exposure of incandescent golden intricacy beyond the veil of the pseudo-Bounded Field, his free hand grabbed her face around her mouth and nostrils so only her eyes dilated with fury and fright; mostly the latter in how easily he did so to her. "I'm not even trying here! Is your Master really that worthless that you can't give me a good fight?"

"O' Wind," She began to utter beneath his palm, the vortex of contorting magical energy twisting before his sparking claws. "ERUPT!"

With a grinding push, Saber let loose a blast of Invisible Air that separated the pair of Servants. The blonde swordsman flew out, feet catching the top of a grave stone and surfed across the earth beneath its slicing soil the marker rode upon. The vampire on the other hand flew back with dexterous grace, twisting around in the air before disappearing in a flash of black fog and scattered into the layers of mist covering the graveyard. Wounds began to quickly heal on Saber, armor itself knitting back together at a slower pace than she'd like but was still a progress that her master hadn't seen before.

A cackling filled the air as Dracula's presence vanished from all those present's senses. Grotesque churning sounds were made as stakes flew out from the mist, forcing Saber to deflect and react to the discharge of projectiles. Her wind-wrapped sword parried each pointed edge, sparks flying and mana-infused material shattered or was sent flying out as the number went from several to several dozen in under ten seconds. In the midst of her parrying the barrage of ranged attacks, the ground around her feet was disturbed and her eyes widened as hands reached out to grab her by the boots.

"W-What?!" She queried out, swinging her blade around in an arc to dismember the appendages below. The sudden sense of dread returned too late as a large spindly hand swooped around and grabbed the blade with only the slightest of cuts to the palm that held it through sheer strength. Flesh and cloth formed out of black fog, revealing her enemy as he smiled demonically at the caught Servant. His mouth parted, strings of saliva connecting rows of teeth as pronounced fangs were poised to strike her vulnerable, blood-stained neck.

The sound of whistling arrows interrupted the prince of darkness before he could commit the deed. A strong pull followed by a ruthless kick to her abdomen produced lungfuls of air and internal bile to spew from the Heroic Spirit. Bits of plate mail and cloth were showered into the air with the fluids and oxygen, her body spiraling away through taller tablets of stone and splintering some trees outlining the premises of the foreign resting place. He himself vanished into the onyx dust moments before the Black Keys' turned arrows could reach their mark, causing the not-too-distant Archer to cluck his tongue with annoyance.

"So," A buzzing sound in accordance to the deep, threatening voice breached the space just behind EMIYA. "Do you want to dance as well, _Archer of Red_?"

Dark skin paled beyond conception. Sweat formed across his brow and vivid eyes contracted in the size of dots. Images of a brutal slaughter have always haunted EMIYA but it was never in this manner and never by this Servant in this setting. So in reflex honed through a multitude of fathomless failures and fights he's been in, Archer reacted in the means that'd produce the least harmful results to himself or his Master.

Crouching down, he'd launch himself forward and up into the air in a throttling leap, causing Berserker's outreaching hand to clench at fabric and tear a shallow groove through the outermost layer of the Anti-Magecraft cloth covering his back. Twisting around in the air, he summoned his black bow, fastening a slew of Black Keys into thin bolts. Releasing them in a manner akin to a rapid-fire machine gun, Shirou would look up with startled admiration at the efficiency of the unknown Servant's slew of attacks that his eyes somehow could track.

Without gesture, decaying remains of flesh and ash around the ground shot out stakes in reply, clashing with the salvo of arrows in a field of sparks and shattering materials. Turning to look at Illya, he'd step towards her, only to find his legs entwined up to his waist and followed up with his arms in the dangerous mana infused wire. Red eyes glowed and a guttural, deep laugh echoed from his chest as he jeered with a toothy smile at the petite girl.

"This is a splendid Magecraft, little Master. But," He snarled after laughing, flexing his muscles and snapping the wires through physical effort, dusting himself off with a palm much to Illya's irritation. "Such magic has no effect on me."

Swinging her hands around, she let loose more strings that acted as bladed whips, her attempt to push him back on the strength of the cords. Doing nothing more than sting the durable Spirit, her own summon landed back on the ground and bolted back towards her side, Projection already at work by his hands curved behind his back. To her periphery and Dracula's own sight, it looked as if a pair of angelic wings sprouted from his back with the opposing dyes of onyx and alabaster. On his arrival, Berserker turned around and caught Kanshou through a firm grip, earning a spout of blood from his palm to splatter over the face of the scaled sword; the other was thrown at the Servant, deflected with a clawed swing of his left hand, sending it spinning awry.

"Honestly, is this the best effort you possess?" He asked sardonically, his hand gripping tightly along the mass of the weapon, fingers digging deep into the Reinforced etchings of its enhanced material. The sound of the white blade caught his attention, causing him to turn to look over his shoulder and witness the blade spinning around in a razor arc that cut through branches like butter and dig grooves deep into the trunks of the forest's glade. Looking back at Archer -whom was already summoning another Bakuya in its original state in his free hand- he grinned savagely at him.

Twisting around, he'd throw him head over heels into the ground with a loud crash, smashing him with enough force to bruise his ribs in the impact and shove the air out of his lungs. Looking ahead at the spinning blade, he merely stepped back, allowing the spinning blade to impale the earth before his feet. Pocketing his hands in his coat, he looked over to where the brown haired girl was and found his brows furrowed. She wasn't just gone, her presence had been concealed.

"Is this Magecraft? Or is this her Servant's doing?" He pondered under his breath.

His senses pricked up the moment Illya generated a sizable burst of her Prana into several forms. Looking back at her, he was pleasantly surprised to see the _Storch Ritters_ flying, small intangible strings connected to knots around her fingers to indicate her control over them. This was definitely stronger than mere mana-infused threads; his senses informed him each of the avian familiars came a distinct presence each of them had the presence of a Magus in sheer Prana output. Unleashing a hail of _Zelle_ -luminous bolts of white light outlined by an azure aura of mana- Berserker dispersed into mist, streaking through the swift attacks and approaching her at a lightning pace. Bending them around through will, she stopped an arm from spearing through her head through a crisscross barrier of two wire-woven blades - _Degen_ \- that pinned his right appendage. It was such a close call that the sight of blood dribbling from her forehead, from his middle claw's prick, revealed how close to death she had come.

"Now," She commanded, her body lighting up with her ominous Command Seals, the presence of which made even Berserker's eyes widen with shock. The sound of the bow's _twang!_ made the vampire transform back into mist, narrowly avoiding a hail of Black Key arrows, fired in rapid succession that made the creature twist and shift in shape around the air away from the now commanded Servant.

Running out of patience, Vlad reformed in the air, swinging his claws around in several motions to eviscerate the copies of holy weapons. The pressure was great enough that Archer had received a few lacerations amidst his reflexive backward leap from his mid-range strikes by his claws. Without even skipping a beat, he raced across the sky in a blur, swiping at Projection crafted weapons and smashing them with little thought to Archer's next move. Shards rained down, forcing the observing Shirou to leap out of the way to avoid being struck by the shrapnel, just in time to see Saber taking up a reverse grip of her Invisible Air blade aimed behind her by her left hip.

"BERSERKER!" Saber's voice howled within the wake of an exploding jetstream of cycling Invisible Air currents, a ray of gold shining in a glimmer that made Shirou's eyes widen at the sight of the weapon's hidden nature. Arcing through the air like a missile, he lacked the capacity to track her momentum as she tore through the atmosphere of the undead graveyard. In the motion of his head turning to look at her source of climactic impact, he'd witness a shower of gore followed up with maimed and severed body parts.

But to his and the Servant's dismay, it was a rising shield of meat made out of the other summoned ghouls. One even managed to pin the invisible blade halfway through its chest, snarling loudly as a stake ebbed from its mouth towards her. Grunting, she twisted her weapon from its grasp in a flash of light and deflected the bolt with ease before severing its head from nasal cavity and temples across. With blood staining her armor and linen, she looked over at Berserker who held Archer by his head up into the air, the latter of which had done virtually no damage to the vampire and had received his own deep cut wounds on his arms and chest.

Clucking her tongue, she bent her knees and charged forward to stab him, only to be bodily bludgeoned by EMIYA as her enemy twisted around in a motion faster than she could recoil from. It sent her smashing into a tree at the shoulder, causing her to cry out, narrowly avoiding a follow-up claw stroke that snapped it into pieces with ease. Spinning on her heel she rapidly swung and thrust her blade at her foe, visibly contorting in frustration as the Impaler easily deflected or avoided her attacks with nothing but claws and his bare hands.

As if to demonstrate the gap between them, Dracula grabbed her sword, ignoring the shallow cut it made into the palm of his flesh. Thrusting his arm like a spear, Saber's eyes widened and she took a step back before an eviscerating sensation took over her. Armor was shattered, plating flying out with wads of ichor stained linen, her midsection thrust all the way through out the back. A grotesque gurgling sound was made from her throat before she hurled out burgundy colored liquid over his sleeve, bringing out a depraved smile from the vampire.

"N-No!" Came out a strangled cry from Shirou, finding his nerve in the middle of this horrific sight.

"Much as I'd enjoy dining on your veins, Saber, this fight has all but drawn to the most satisfying of endings," Berserker declared with a guttural chuckle. Rending his arm from her midsection in another spray of gore, he pulled his leg back and kicked her armored breastplate with a smashing impact that sounded akin to flattening of tin foil. As the agape Servant's eyes widened, her mouth spewing out more red colored spit, she was propelled from an explosive pop of air pressure and sent careening from the top of the hill into a disheveled part of earth, showering it with flotsam and clods as she was buried in her own faux grave.

Nearby the red-haired master, Berserker raised his hand and began calling upon the blood of the fallen ghouls, their lifeblood spiraling out like tendrils of pulsing liquid mana that left their shriveling husks decaying into piles of sinew and ash. Clenching it in hand, larger stake equal to the size of a spear was held in his grip, pulsing with energy. "My Master said to avoid leaving too many witnesses and to kill any Masters of worth in my domain. Farewell, Saber!"

His words rang out as he pulled his arm back before throwing it at the barely moving Servant. His eyes widened at sudden movement to intercept. It wasn't the white haired Einzbern Magus who looked on with a complex mask of emotions that lacked complete sincerity. Nor it was Archer, whom was struggling to stand from his own sustained injuries, thanks to the aforementioned girl's unique Command Spells. With no sign of the absent Mage girl's presence since that moment earlier, he saw with shock as the cowardly red-haired boy leaped in the stake's path; impaling him through the chest in a shower of blood and innards.

Choking on his own vomit and bile, Illya's eyes looked over at the man who gripped the weapon and kept himself from falling backwards onto his downed Servant. Despite the substantial weapon stuck within him, Shirou's shaky gaze looked up, a look contorting from the pain he felt to impotent rage aimed squarely up at Berserker. Pulling the stake slowly out, he let out an animalistic snarl before it was fully withdrawn, leaving him to fall onto the tainted earth and begin to ebb his own blood in abundance onto the soil.

"S-S-Shirou!" Saber cried out, dragging herself out with effort to crawl up out of the hole she was in towards his location. Her armored hands reached out, feeling for her master's body. As she drew up to his position, she looked on with horror as Berserker swung his hand around, projecting dozens of stakes from the dead wood surrounding the graveyard. Crawling up over his body, Saber concentrated on healing herself as quickly as she could while holding her Invisible Air sword up with both hands. The worst of the injuries dealt couldn't be given anymore than supplemental covering and stopping the bleeding, prioritizing on keeping her master from being killed while he was immovable. "Well! What are you waiting for, Berserker?! Won't you strike me down as you intended?!"

He didn't respond, instead taking a moment to observe the status of Archer behind him before a sudden pulse of his Bounded Field was penetrated. Glaring he looked over to the source and saw something that made him scowl harder. A cloaked figure in an obscuring teal outlined black cloth with the soft texture of silk retaining the effect that made its enemies unable to sense its identity nor its Prana. By the way it hovered high into the sky, he knew exactly whom he was dealing with.

"You sure know how to interrupt a good time, Caster," Berserker intoned with a growl, his voice augmented once again through mist-swirled graveyard that was his domain. "Do you want to test my patience or are you here simply to watch?"

The figure didn't respond vocally, simply pointing a gloved hand upwards.

Raising a brow, he entertained this game and looked up. Eyes dilated and his mouth was agape, following by the audible gasp by Illya and the nervous expression shared by EMIYA and Saber. Up in the sky was a firmament of water, shaped into large appendage resembling a giant arm-attached hand. With a pointed gesture of an index finger, the watery limb surged downward with the driving force of a jet liner, forcing everyone around to be called into action.

"Archer-!" Illya began to say, shortly before she was scooped into the injured but still functional arms of her Servant as he decisively throttled himself to the nearest tree and leaped away.

Saber on the other hand gingerly lifted Shirou in a bridal style, running with as much speed as her wounded form could manage. Looking back over her shoulder, she'd see the telltale shimmer of one Rin Tohsaka at a marginally safe distance before rushing away. She observed through her periphery as the vampire let loose a storm of stakes from the eroding earth and trees, all deflected by a sigil of red she couldn't make out from this distance. And in an instant, the watery limb crashed into the graveyard with a thunderclap of force, the velocity of which flattened the treeline and washed away the necrotic decay and its mist-layered soil along with the assumed target.

It was at this point, that Shirou had finally ceased consciousness as the rest of the events of the battle stopped registering altogether.

* * *

Flames.

Everything was on fire. This was how his dreams usually ended up when he felt an omen or he hadn't been punished enough in his day-to-day existence. The outline of a child, covered in soot and blood, trudging through a molten street where the sounds of screams, begging for rescue, would be unending in his ears. Small hands reached up to block them out, he himself choking out rasping whimpers and cries for his own parents, before he'd forget them entirely. Falling to the ground, he'd eventually be buried by a collapsing wall, all but forgetting a significant sight above the wall of embers and smoke that covered this part of Fuyuki City.

It was like a hole in the sky, swirling with a haunting glow, ebbed with an ominous presence that left its mark forever on the mind of Shirou Emiya. In this bizarre out of body experience, the should-be-dying teenager looked up with a faraway stare, mesmerized and terrified by the spectacle of what was before his gaze. This black hole that sucked away everything he knew and left him empty, alone, save for the one who gave him a purpose of living. But, in finding out what he did about his father, even if chastely, did it all really matter? What was he supposed to do right that Kiritsugu Emiya did wrong?

As he questioned this, a warmth filled him, unnaturally swelling up and around him from his stomach up to his throat.

" _Shirou? Shirou?_ "

A voice called out to him, urging his dream-self to turn to look over his shoulder, blinded by a brilliant starlight of gold filled with an azure horizon. Wincing, he instinctively raised a hand out to shield his sight from it-

-only to feel himself grasp a soft hand. Still waking from his stupor, he blearily opened his eyes, revealing the image of the gorgeous woman draped in a blue dress with blonde hair adorned in a blue-tied, embroidered bun. Deep emerald eyes stared into his hazel orbs, bringing him more clarity and dawning realization. His face began to warm rapidly and his mouth began to dryly part, eyes dilating while he heard her voice in the present once more.

"Shirou-"

"S-S-S-SABER?!" Shirou recoiled in a comical roll of bed-sheet and landed with a thunk on the floor of what he remembered was one of the spare rooms. Observing from his point of view, this was a futon with a spare cushion, the sight of its cleaned fabric meant it was changed out while the stains of blood was partially etched into the framework of the flooring that led to the open sliding door to the outside; the outside of his home in the Emiya Estate.

"You shouldn't move so erratically," The Servant chastised sternly, her soft eyes hardening into a scowl -a far cry change from her usual stoic self, almost making her look cute to his perspective- still seated on her legs amidst her very much old-style dress from whatever era she hails from, clenched hands resting on the lap of her dress' skirt. "That stake Berserker sent you was intentionally made to kill me. If you hadn't unintentionally led it to a less than immediately lethal area of your body, you wouldn't have recovered as miraculously as you did."

"The stake?" He blinked, almost forgetting exactly the moment that left him near dead. Furrowing his brow, he remembered freezing up and unable to involve himself in any meaningful way while everybody else showed their cool or skill in fighting such a dangerous foe. She was hurt badly by...Berserker? As if forgetting himself, he lurched forward and gestured to his Servant with gobsmacked concern. "Wait, about you! You got hurt a lot worse than me!"

"Don't fret, Shirou," The blonde woman sighed, calming a bit as she explained to him with a bit more composure than a moment ago. "I have an innate healing ability. Even though his attacks were severe, I was able to heal the worst of it within an hour. The wound Lancer dealt with me probably won't go away until he's slain, so that in of itself is a true hindrance if nothing else is."

"Then...did you heal me?" Shirou balked, trying to figure out the oddity of his survival. Looking down, he saw he was shirtless -adding to his embarrassment- and his sculpted body honed by years at the Archery Range along with exercises of various sorts, kept him in shape. His bandages looked clean, changed out from the outline of traces of what was leftover blood that hadn't been completely removed from his skin. The rest was completely untouched; as if the injury hadn't been dealt to him in the first place.

"Those are your powers, Shirou," Saber answered bluntly, cocking her head questioningly to the side. "Didn't you know you possess an extraordinary healing factor?"

"I've...never healed from a scrape or a bump to the head any quicker than the last guy," He admitted, poking at his abdomen curiously, peeking at the muscle-intoned chest with wonderment. "Naw, there's no way I should've done this even naturally."

"Then perhaps this is the result of our bond, and our pact has had an intrinsic difference to your own power?" She theorized, shrugging as she stood herself upward. "Whatever the case is, try not to be so brazen. Getting yourself killed will render me unable to acquire mana and then I won't be able to maintain physical form any longer."

"Oh...uh, I guess I forgot that part," Shirou mumbled lamely, looking to the floor with a dumbfound stare. "I just, snapped. I didn't think about it, I just knew I had to do something. I couldn't just let it end, not like that."

Saber's eyes briefly widened before returning to its natural shape. Closing them, she sighed, walking up and flicking his forehead, ushering him out of his stupor with a grimacing blink of his own bewildered sockets. Putting her hands on her hips, she nodded to him, "Don't do it again, Shirou, and we'll move on past this. Come on; everyone else has been awaiting your recovery."

"Wait," Shirou stopped short, finding himself making a weird face as Saber walked away without him around the corner of the Estate's courtyard. "Who's _everyone else_?"

* * *

Illya was fuming. Everything about last night was a disaster. From the point of laying out a path of insistence to subtly convince the foolish redheaded stepchild of her late father to surrender his Servant to a more capable Master and take refuge in the church with the priest. It should've been obvious, right? But no, his stubbornness rivaled her own, a trait she had unfortunately found out and underestimated during her time mingling here at his home. The sour look on her face was so intense, her Servant was glad he wasn't around to see her and readily used his excuse to recover from his injuries from the night prior to ensure no more awkward silences would lapse between them.

Taiga Fujima was absent as this was a Saturday, and only a select few people were going to be at the school. Perhaps some Captains of Clubs or members of the Faculty, but she was more than likely going to make a stop there at some point during the day before she did anything else a single woman like herself did for fun. Sakura Matou was suspiciously absent, though she didn't care; her Prana was even weaker than Shirou's when she had investigated her. She'd be surprised if she even had a Magical Circuit to begin with.

Rin Tohsaka was the only one who remained here over night. Despite heavy insistence from herself, the strong-willed elitist just didn't budge. It infuriated her how powerless she felt with a damaged Heroic Spirit and no one to conveniently lend their aid to her. She knew that this girl was a problem from the moment she tried to acquire that catalyst for the grandest of Servants; now, with it evident that she has Caster, she wasn't sure just how much more dangerous her nemesis was...

Upon hearing the footsteps of Saber entering the dining room, Illya turned her head from thought while Rin sipped tea comfortably across from her at the ground-table. Joining them at the opposite side of the gathering place, the blonde Servant had the perfect straightforward view of a shirt-adorned, befuddled Shirou entering the room. While Saber had none of the sternness she showcased earlier -taking care to simply stare ahead with that serious expression she always had- Illya resumed her spiteful glare while Rin looked condescendingly at him. The pair's expressions were more than enough to make up for Saber's leniency, earning a grimace from the approaching boy.

"Are you guys going to tell me I screwed up too?" He muttered out.

"Oh yes," Rin thinly stared back, earning a crawl up his spine as her words -while composed- were laced with an icy kind of venom. "We're going to tell you in eloquent detail just how badly you acted in such a time and place."

"While it's not my place to be redundant, Shirou, I think you were being incredibly thick-headed," Illya countered with her own hot look piercing his eyes from her pair of vibrant red orbs. "You were in the middle of an obvious trap, that all those present could tell. We even offered a solution to check for the trap -which did exist- and you reacted like an erratic monkey!"

"M-Monkey?" Shirou winced, sitting down at the table hesitantly as he continued to receive verbal thrashings.

"Yes. A big stupid monkey named Shirou!" Illya puffed up her cheeks petulantly, lips pouting and an unintentionally cute look adorned her face despite the harshness of her words. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Bad Shirou, Bad!"

"H-Hey! You can't just say things like that?!" The red-haired teenager raised his hands up defensively. "Come on, you saw what was happening. He wasn't even dead, what was I supposed to do-"

A dawning crossed him that immediately transferred to his face. He had been so wrapped up in what happened afterwards that he forgot that someone's life had been taken away. Murdered. Right in front of his eyes. His hands lowered, limply falling onto his lap while his eyes lowered with his brow to look down at the table, unable to speak as his face paled.

"Shinji. I...couldn't save him," He mouthed out, unable to see the pained expression on Rin's face nor the look of confusion of Illya. "I...was helpless. That monster just laughed at me and I couldn't move. I was so close to dying myself that I didn't know how to react. I just...the one time I could do something, I couldn't stop myself. Seeing Saber, lying there; I didn't want to go through with that all over again!"

The daunting silence crossed the table, some of the young women exchanging glances as if knowing this was a difficult time for him. Saber didn't show as much emotion, steeling herself better than even the usually reserved Rin or the confused Illya.

"As much as I don't like it, we can't make news of his death right now," Rin proffered, earning a wary look from the slumped boy sitting at an angle across from her. "Not only is there too much going on that'd unfasten at revealing our hand, but there are still enemies we've yet to identify. Berserker is a threat on his own, and based on the Boundary Field placed on the school, it seems to be the work of him; that or his Master is more than probably involved."

"Truth be told, I'm a bit more worried about Sakura," Shirou spoke up, getting a look from Illya that was far more interested than earlier. Looking up, he looked between the three women past his slowly regaining countenance. "Did you see her at all this morning? She said she...wanted to talk to me last night."

"Unfortunately no," Saber readily answered, Rin furrowed her brow and looking down with contemplation. Only casting a second's glance at her biting her lip and holding her chin, the Servant continued to inquire of her master. "Do you think Sakura was worried for her brother?"

"Possibly. It's not like her to skip our morning ritual though," He replied with a lame shrug. "She's such a creature of habit that I forget what it's like for her not to show up."

"She's probably just taking it easy then," Illya offered, showing a more enthusiastic smile that almost startled the redhead with how dismal the atmosphere was. "She's been so spacey as of late that I'm sure she's just been tired with how the new year's been going. Perhaps you should check in on her later tonight? I'm sure she'll be right as rain by then!"

"Yeah," Shirou nodded with acknowledgement, grinning readily after hearing these words. "I think that's a good idea."

Speaking of the day, Shirou furrowed his brow and looked more serious than before.

Looking over to Rin, he asked her straightforward, "Tohsaka, are we going to be doing this now, or are we still okay?"

Surprise was the first expression crossing her face. Then, a slight blush worked its way across her face as she looked to the side as she answered warily, "Truth be told I'm a bit more concerned with Berserker. As it stands, he's our biggest enemy in this Grail War. Even discounting how skilled of a challenge Lancer is, he seems to have us beat in every category leaps and bounds. Even my Servant doesn't have a specialty in dealing with Vlad the Impaler and she took him off guard enough for him to retreat."

"He does seem a bit too clear-headed to be a Berserker," Saber confessed, a look of concern crossing over her emerald gems for eyes as she looked carefully between Rin, Illya and then finally at her master. "Madness Enhancement is what usually makes a Berserker different from other Servants. The higher the rank of this skill has, the far stronger it makes the Heroic Spirit, at a cost. In the highest level, it could make them unrivaled in strength, endurance and more, but makes them inconsolable and incapable of even speech. Yet, it seems there's an exception to his case."

"Perhaps it's because his Legend ties closely to his other identity, and that neither of them were incapable of using reasoning, strategy and logic despite being heralded as demons or nightmares in both contexts?" Illya offered, earning a startled look from Saber at her mature prompting. Gesturing dismissively, the white haired girl sighed before looking to Rin bluntly. "It hardly matters why he can ignore standard defects. The fact of the matter is that Berserker was able to fight off three Servants without taking hardly a substantial injury or losing much stamina. He's arguably the strongest Servant in this war and we can't let him roam free with such monstrous impulses and underhanded tactics."

"So, we're all in agreement then?" Rin asked plainly, looking around to Shirou, Saber and Illya. "Until our matter with Berserker is finished, we remain in a truce."

"That's fair, I suppose," Illya accepted with a simple nod.

"Yeah, I agree," Shirou nodded seriously, looking across at Saber whom nods back at Rin with acknowledgement.

Exhaling aloud, Rin stands up from the table, leaving her empty teacup on the saucer over the table, "Good. I suggest if we're going to get anything done, we should hurry and do it now. Apart from the usual norm of no fighting taking place in Daylight, vampires are notoriously wary of the Sun's rays so we should be safe if we at least walk carefully in town."

"Right," Shirou replied with understanding, rising up to his feet along with Saber across from him. "I guess I should check how the school is after that scuffle from the night before. It must be a mess after my near-death encounter."

"Don't worry about that," Rin dismissed with ease.

"Uh, why do you say that?" He inquired with confusion.

"Just trust me on that," She winked at him facetiously, earning a scrunched up frown from the redhead. "I have my ways, Shirou Emiya. Trust me on that."

As she escorted herself to the door, Illya looked up at Shirou guardedly and murmured aloud to him a warning, "Don't trust her, Shirou. She's got something in store for you that isn't selfless so watch yourself when it comes to being alone with that girl."

"She doesn't seem that bad," He dismissed with a smile, bending down and ruffling her head much to her chagrin. "You gotta trust me sometimes, Illya."

"If I did, I'd probably be dead."

"Ow, way to hit me low," He retorted from the dry retort she had.

Leaving her alone, he knew she needed rest -as did her Servant- from the battle that happened. With Saber being in an eager mind to move today, Shirou got properly dressed and gave her something resembling normal clothes. It was some old uniform of Taiga's, resembling a school dress that possessed a blue skirt and a white blouse fastened by a blue tie at the collar. Complementing it with a blue hair-tie that put her hair-bun into a shoulder length ponytail.

He wore a dark colored jacket with white outlines, a new white tee, fresh pair of jeans and his slightly dirtied shoes from the night prior. While it wasn't the best looking, it fitted for their outdoor adventure. Leaving the home, he couldn't quite place a nagging feeling he was forgetting something important. This was only enhanced as he walked down the street with Saber, arm's length apart in an even space, that he thought he felt something look at him intently. Turning to look up at the looming mansion of the Matou Estate, he swore he saw someone peering through the glass of the upper story window. Staring back, he saw nothing and heard nothing but the brush of wind bringing a chill across his skin for its season.

Dismissing it, he didn't see a pale hand, pressing longingly against the glass surface of the window and looking at his back as it walked in sync with Saber down the street. Just until it was out of sight, it pressed a bit harder and harder still, till the pane cracked under the buckling pressure. A ghostly sigh and the hand retreated with its owner, back into the thick shadows of the home's interior.

* * *

 **A/N:** And like that, the 4th Chapter is finally finished! I'm sorry I didn't get this out as quickly as the other three, but I really wanted to end the fight with Vlad properly. Starting off with ripe action and wonderful momentum, I wanted to do the battle justice from the moment he legitimately raised a finger to fight any of them. If there's one thing clear I like to make, it's that Berserker is, like in the other routes, THE biggest threat in the presence of all other Servants and Masters accordingly.

The relationship between Illya tenses while Rin softens a bit and Saber bonds a bit with Shirou. That is something I liked emphasizing here. Just because this story is fixated around Illya, the relationship of these other characters are pretty important for how our dense redhead takes actions in stride. And just like before, Illya is the voice that Shirou listens to and appreciates the most out of all those in his personal company, just showing further just how much control she has over his mood and passive actions.

Hope you liked how this chapter went down and I look forward to your comments on it! See you all on the next update!


	5. The Best Laid Plans

The journey back to the school was a brisk one. With the Sun already high up into the noon sky, warmth filled the countryside and made it a pleasant trek to the place his whole life changed. Looking over at Saber, she had a mask of stoicism on as usual, almost like a mix between a doll with immaculate beauty and a statue full of strong features etched over a young girl's visage. Her emerald eyes primarily was fixed ahead, looking ahead with only the faintest of looks to the side and up to the sky, constantly on edge since the night's summoning prior.

" _I wonder if she ever got much rest last night?_ " Shirou wondered, musing how present she was at the moment of his awakening. She must have not gotten much if she was beside him the whole time. Though, he wondered just how much of his sleep-filled dialogue was made and promptly turned away with a slight warmth bristling along his face and neck. " _No, best not think about that. She said she recovered so I'll take her word for it._ "

Walking over the hillside on the sidewalk he felt as much as saw the passing of cars moving with the afternoon traffic. Even out here, in the more isolated outlying area of Fuyuki City, where there more prestigious people lived got some passerby travelers of both native citizenry and those of yonder beyond the horizon. Slight chilling gusts came with every bulk of metal and plastic that blew past him, reminding him that life carried on, even when battles of intimate near death like his two encounters with Lancer or those of a colossal scale like with Berserker could occupy such a realm of obscurity none could be privy to.

Then again, both instances of Lancer was the case of him sticking his nose where it didn't belong, so he was lucky whereas someone else wouldn't be.

Thoughts returned back to the alliance as they got to the more urban side of the city, getting ever-so closer to the school. Between him, Rin Tohsaka and the house guest to surrogate sibling Illyasviel von Einzbern, they had a powerful set of personal warriors and their own magic to call upon. Well, they did, he had very little to contribute other than being a walking target. Their reprimands still stung, yet he had no real defense other than how desperate he was to avoid another death when he could've saved someone. If it hadn't been for Rin's Servant, he knew they'd all be in trouble.

Now that he thought about it, apart from the three armored knights, Shirou didn't know who or what that Servant was. Thinking his own Servant knew more, he looked over at the blonde woman and finally broke the tense silence, "Hey, Saber, you saw Rin's Servant, right?"

"Yes," She replied straightforward, her eyes glancing at him curiously. "What of it?"

"Uh, I was wondering if you knew anything about him. Or her. Or it," He trailed off, embarrassed he had no concept of what Heroic Spirit Rin possessed other than its classification.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," She responded honestly, scrunching her brows up in a cute look of annoyance that got Shirou to smirk a little. "Caster wears a finely woven disguise made out of a material that not only acts akin to a Presence Concealment but also silences its Prana outright. The only thing I got from our brief exchange when we returned to your home is that its very knowledgeable in weaving materials of all sorts, and has control over the elements. It is a very old Magus from perhaps my age if not older. I only have speculation at this point so I can't really describe anything other than a concealing cloak that hides its owner's face and shape."

Shirou became worried at this. Rin was already a scary enough girl being of the popular status and from a rich, influential family that had ties to all the most important junctures and politics of Fuyuki; adding that to her being a Magus of prestige and might being Master to Caster of unknown identity made her terrifying. He believed she wanted to ally at this point, but she's a selfish creature by her very nature. He's seen it from a distance and by reputation. If she decided our pact was of no use to her, just how long would she tolerate himself and Illya if they were in her way?

Crossing the grounds where the school's property was in sight, he'd see some cars distantly parked adjacent to the faculty parking lot. Given the majority of people who attended walked on foot -or were driven here, as some did- he figured it was just the people who were necessary to do projects and other assignments necessary before the next week started. This normalcy brought him some sense of relief while Saber continued to monitor to area around them with a studious glare fixed on the academic location they were approaching.

Breaching the space he did just the other day, Shirou was touched by the familiar sensation of an ominous power at work in the given proximity. He looked over to his Servant who immediately let out an exhale through her nostrils, her mouth parted and her head turning about to look at the largely unoccupied area full of sports equipment, grass and various things of that nature in either direction.

"Something the matter?" Shirou finally asked, coming to a stop as she did upon feeling the cold chill that came across them not from the weather but from a metaphysical crawl down their spines. "You feel it too?"

"Yes. This feels similar if not morbidly so to the same Bounded Field that was set up around Berserker's trap," Saber murmured with certainty, her brows knitted into a frown as her emerald eyes swept the sizable land's scope. "Keep on your guard, Shirou. I detect the latent presences of several Servants that had their hand here."

"Ah, you must be talking about Archer and Lancer," He easily explained away with a dismissive wave, beginning his walk onward with his Servant joining him without skipping a beat. "Yeah, they were fighting in the courtyard next to the main building. They were pretty amazing, even from what I saw, so they might have left a mark."

"That's not what I'm referring to," She countered, following the lead of the young man as they navigated the neatly paved path towards the area Shirou described. There he'd see something that took him aback with the Servant staring in confirmation to the other mana she felt at play. The place the redhead saw the forbidden fight that launched him into this Holy Grail War was completely unscathed, not a single piece of grass kicked up or craters made across the space from the main building and the ground they once fought. More amazing was the sight of the windows that were most definitely shattered from the interior battle caused from his near-death encounter with Lancer was completely unmarred from the previous night's ordeal. Saber piped up as his eyes and mouth were agape, unable to fully process what kind of dream he experienced the previous night until he was brought back to reality by her words. "This is more than likely the work of Caster. From those fake Servants to the concealing cloak, this seems to be its specialty, if not one of them."

"It's amazing," Shirou walked up to the earth where he definitely saw a crater the previous night, brushing his hand over and definitely feeling a slight buzz to his hands as he touched the seemingly untouched ground. "Yeah, unless you're a Mage like me, you'd probably not even tell unless you touched it. This is a remarkable ability."

"Keep your guard up, Shirou," She intoned seriously, angling her glance at him before nodding towards the school building. "We have to check inside if anything else is amiss. Who knows what other Servants may have laid traps or lie in wait for you to return here?"

"Well, other than that confirmed Berserker trap, I don't know anyone else who might've-"

"And that's why you almost died," She corrected, making him grimace at her jabbing interruption. "Don't assume things are safe, even if you can't detect danger. That's when you are most prone to being ambushed by an enemy."

"So, not everyone has an honor code of announcing themselves?" He questioned, now following her lead as she walked towards the opposite end of the building to find the entrance. "I mean, apart from you, that is."

"Did Lancer wait to let you catch your breath before he plunged his spear towards your heart?"

"I...guess not."

'Well, there you have it," Saber responded with a huff, looking over her shoulder at him with a serious stare that made his face wince. "While a fight between Servants may depend on our own ideals and morality, when it comes to Masters or casual observers, you're an easy target. If it comes to bystanders or you, they will always choose to slay you on sight unless ordered not to. Killing a Master is a surest way to defeat a stronger Servant, or at least hinder them long enough for you to best them conventionally."

"Man, this is a real blood sport," Shirou commented dryly.

Keeping silent after that, the high schooler trailed behind his Servant as they circumnavigated around the face of the building till they saw one of its entrances bordering the path they departed from. Entering the school, he felt himself remember something. Looking to his right down the hall, he saw the faint outline of a familiar person walking around the corner.

"Shirou?" Saber inquired.

"You go ahead and look around the school," Shirou urged her, looking back at her with a simple smile. "There's someone I wanted to check up on."

"Okay, but don't wander too far-"

"I know, I know!" He groaned out, walking away with a hand waving behind him without looking. "Yeesh, you're like a den mother, Saber."

* * *

Ayako Mitsuzuri was very impressed.

Having awakened early for the trek to school for the amount of time it'd be open to the faculty and Club members studious enough to finish their projects or other miscellaneous tasks before the next week started. She wasn't sure if her pleading with the most helpful guy on campus, Shirou Emiya, would be able to do a convincing job so she wanted to make sure everything was spic and span before someone of the board inspected club rooms. Among her own slew of class homework she had to take care of, she didn't want that to be a mark on her semester in the beginning of the year.

Instead, she was greeted with a pleasant surprise. Everything was polished with a shine she hadn't seen since the end of last year. It brought back memories of seeing Sakura drawing the bowstring and showing off surprising ease of which she adapted herself to the club she forced the meek girl into joining. Taking a moment to inspect equipment, she was happy to see nothing was out of place and everything seemed to be tidied up from the altercation she had with Shinji; someone she's still cross at him being absent after the vicious argument that descended into near injury.

Sighing, she took time to take stock of inventory and look over all the things the club may need in the future and the schedule for more meetings.

"Probably should deliver this to the faculty office sooner than later," She mulled over, taking the dotted clipboard of what was needed from the school board for her club in terms of supplies and necessities. Walking away from the club she reentered the school's main building, seeing a familiar set of outdoor shoes were placed by the entrance. While this sparked something akin to a remembering of an earlier promise in her head, she also saw a tress of gold stem from around the corner and a pair of light footsteps followed by even lighter trots.

Furrowing her brows, she walked past the forked corridor where she'd be noticed at the last second by an aforementioned red-head. Turning the corner, she casually walked a bit quicker to catch up to the sounds of unfamiliar footsteps that didn't fit with the usual assortment that peruses the school at this day of the week. Turning one corner, she'd see something that made her double take with a frown aimed at the backs of the mystery pair.

"I wasn't aware our school had Open House rules," She brashly called to the pair, now causing them to officially stop to acknowledge her.

"And I thought the Japanese were noteworthy for their hospitality," The shorter of the two said, turning slowly to smile softly, revealing a pure, unblemished complexion that only someone bred in Western Europe could obtain. Thin brows enhanced her piercing gaze with long lashes and a luminous cyan-like blue hue to her eyes that seemed to pool into the pupils themselves, giving a mesmerizing majesty to an outside observer. Accompanying her cute, rounded face was a frame of blonde hair that curtained around her shoulders, evenly trimmed bangs covering the tips of her thinned brows and embracing her heritage of being an outsider in a foreign land.

Her clothes seemed to have a Victorian era appeal to it. Wearing a beret of deep blue with a white rose angled to its flank, she wore it on the left side of her head, with a veil of nearly black silk resting behind her head from the cap. Her dress wore ruffled shoulders that tied into laced sleeves that ended in white etches akin to snowflakes while her hands were covered by silk dark blue gloves; akin to the shade of her apparel. Her blouse wore a white bow over the bosom, letting it slink down her narrow waist till it rested in a tea-cup frilled skirt, leaving her legs covered by leggings of black her own feet covered by the customary indoor shoes left available at the school's available entrances of brown hue.

"She's a student, _love_ ," The second newcomer spoke, his voice airy and full of vitality, with his angular sculpted visage reminiscing of someone who was from the Mediterranean. His head had a sweeping trail of fiery-gold hair, fastening into a golden pinned ponytail that hung just shy of the middle of his shoulder blades, glimmering in the light of the day that shined through the hallway's windows. Emerald eyes shined in a visually stunning manner, almost glowing to Ayako's perspective, complemented by the dark orbs that rested in between the sapphire irises. Beyond his charming smile, the way he stood and his handsome features, Mitsuzuri almost felt her heart sputter if he didn't speak in a way that disregarded her rudeness because of what she was.

Unlike his companion, he wore a stylish coat of black fur over what looked like a suit jacket of golden trim and black hue. A loose tie hung around the collar with several buttons undone to hint the amazing definition of his pectoral muscles and the tautness of his shoulders up to his neck. With a particular leather belt with the symbol of a sea nymph latched onto the buckle, he wore expensive looking pants that looked too rich for even the most luxurious parts of Fuyuki City. Apart from her, he wore what looked like sandals around equally descript pairs of feet, making it the oddest detail to this walking athletic model.

"Yes, and this _student_ happens to belong here," Ayako replied stubbornly, regaining her composure with a glare and a snort. Crossing her arms over her school uniform's chest, she leaned on one foot and cocked her head at the pair. She was no Rin Tohsaka, but she wasn't one to push around, regardless of status and stature of a person; Shinji Matou is living proof of that. "What's your business here? You know, other than filling my school with your unbelievable ego?"

The male to the right let out a musical, raucous laugh while the girl let out a humorless chuckle, showing she was clearly not amused liker her partner.

"She's got fire in her! I like it!" He stepped forward, his hand stretched out hospitably unlike the blonde who kept her distance, perpetually glaring her with an icy stare that sent chills up the Archery Club Leader's spine. This was erased when her unfurled hand grasped the other's soft palms, feeling the faintest traces of callouses, but also an incredible _warmth_ to his grip. Her eyes met his, his smile a rising Sun and comforting tide of an Ocean just as the smell of his expensive oils mingled with something almost magical that made her hazel orbs drink in his green rings. "I'm Pyrrhos. Pleasure to meet such a fiery maiden, such as yourself."

Feeling herself flush warmly to her face, her neck beginning to sweat and her hairs prick at the back of her neck, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed by this forward motion of attraction and politeness. Shaking his hand back, almost too enthusiastically, she stuttered out as she tried to take a hesitant step back from his incredible presence, "S-Sure, of course, n-no problem," She coughed, brushing her bangs aside while forcing a smile to defuse her own embarrassment -something obviously not lost on the smug grin present on Pyrrhos- before she waved to the persistently silent blonde. "And you?"

"I'm here as a visitor with my beloved companion," She declared in a sweet, melodious voice that belied her mask of ice over her penetrating eyes, a smile present as she gestured dismissively over one shoulder and then to the other. "Who is currently busying himself in the faculty office for his own personal duties here. He said I can feel free to make myself familiar with my associate here."

"Uh-huh," Ayako nodded with a flick of her tongue against the roof of her mouth, her arms resuming to cross over her chest as Pyrrhos leaned casually against one of the school lockers, his eyes never leaving her face for some reason. "Not to seem a bit forward, but what kind of business do a couple of rich looking people like you have in a school like this? And who is this beloved companion of yours?"

"So many questions. I guess you really are the exception of Japanese hospitality," She snidely replied, contrasting heavily with her sweet voice and smile, but coalesced with the cold glare emanating from her eyes.

"Listen, if you want trouble-"

"Hey!" A voice called out as a figure walked around the corner and made himself known. Twirling around, Ayako almost sighed with relief at the familiar ginger who strode up to her vicinity. Stopping short and looking at the ritzy pair behind her, Mitsuzuri shook her head and gestured to them with a smile.

"These two are apparently just visiting due to someone from school inviting them here to idle here," She introduced, almost snorting as she still felt fed up from the blonde's earlier choice of wording. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she got a satisfying dour expression from her, all the while Pyrrhos seemed to close his eyes and shake his head. Pointing to the red-haired man, she spoke with no stutter this time in introduction, "This is Pyrrhos, the gentleman. And this is," Ayako turned to look at blonde, smiling thinly and casting a half-lidded glare back at her in a too-sweet briefing on her. "The mysterious Un-Gentlewoman."

"Funny," She icily spoke back, her eyes drifting over to Shirou's. Unlike the ample-bodied brunette, he walked up -if not a little off-put from this scenario- and smiled as he reached a hand out.

"I apologize if you two got on a bad foot. My name's Shirou Emiya," He politely introduced himself, his hand outstretched and waiting.

For a moment, the look of surprise looked amplified beyond the ordinary. The young woman's peerless teal orbs had dilated at the latter part of his name, already off guarded by how candidly formal he was. Then those same eyes turned -for a moment- into a scarlet shade at looking at his hand. A blink later, and they returned back normalcy, making Shirou question if he saw it at all. A sweet smile of endearment spread across her face as her gloved hand reached out and caught his own, gripping it in a way that reminded him of how a diplomat might shake hands.

"Just for that genuine Japanese hospitality, I'm inclined to share you my name, Shirou Emiya," She answered with an intense stare that seemed to put the red-head in a sense of eerie dread as she almost whispered her next choice words. "Reines El-Melloi Archisorte."

"T-That's quite a mouthful," Shirou tried to joke, now feeling his hand enveloped in a vice grip he wasn't expecting and was almost rooted in place in this petrified hold she had on him. Trying to play it cool, for Ayako's sake, he sheepishly smiled with his teeth and asked. "Why not I call you just Reines?"

"How forward of you, Emiya," She sang, her voice tickling his ears yet made his face feel a bit cold in the hold she had yet to relinquish. Closed eyes reopened, her face still a pleasant expression mired by her jeweled eyes, spoke unashamedly. "If I didn't come here with my beloved companion, I'd definitely find time to truly bring us closer to such an informal basis. Perhaps, another time when we aren't in such," She alluded, casting her gaze at Ayako, inferring with the softest of implied snarls. "Inappropriate company?"

"S-S-Sure!" He stuttered out now, though for a completely different reason than Mitsuzuri did for Pyrrhos. It felt like a Bisque Doll was a shell covering a spider, and every impulse in him felt fear that was on par with Rin; or Illya when she was angry, but too sweet to not say that she was. "J-Just give me a heads up, okay?"

"I do what I wish," Reines intoned, removing her hand from his, in time for a sound of loud footsteps was coming from the opposite direction of the hall. A twinkle of red sparked in her eyes, as she whispered yet again like a spider to its prey. "But I might make an exception for you."

"I'm sorry, truly I am!" An apologizing voice broke the tension like a knife, making both Ayako and Shirou prick up while Pyrrhos idly turned his head to acknowledge the source's arrival. As he approached, he took a moment to take in the scene and read it completely different than how the others had. Smiling, Issei Ryuudou fixed his glasses while holding a book bag over his shoulder to rest at his left side. "Emiya. Mitsuzuri. I see you've gotten to be acquainted with my temple's guests."

"Guests?" Ayako voiced aloud a query that popped into the red-head's mind.

"Oh beloved, that's quite cold," Reines sang aloud, turning around with a twirl of her skirt, the hem's frills rippling like water as she slid up almost too quickly for any person present to notice. She wrapped her arms in between the space of his sleeved right arm, pulling it close into her ribbon tied bosom, causing him to visibly sputter and his face become flushed. Leaning up, she placed a kiss on his cheek, only furthering his embarrassment as she proclaimed while her eyes were fixated on his now sweating visage. "After all, I thought we were a match made by destiny?"

"P-Please," He hissed, trying his best to regain composure as his face lingered over her own near expression of longing. "N-Not here."

Pouting her cheeks, she spewed her air out and the familiar fragrance of her perfume clicked in the back of Shirou's head. Before he could make mention of it, she looked at him and he clamped his jaws shut out of reflex. Seeing that he wasn't saying anything, the rich looking girl smiled to them both as she began to pull him away. "Well, it was interesting meeting you both, Ayako Mitsuzuri and Shirou Emiya. I'll look forward to a more informal reunion later," Taking a inhale, she then sang out musically to the leaning observer that had been Pyrrhos. "Come along!"

"Right-Right," The tall Sunset haired man pushed off the lockers, casting a wink at Ayako -earning a blushing blink from the brunette- before he'd idly whistle behind them as Issei began to whisper something the two couldn't hear.

Leaving the two alone and bizarrely off kilter from the whole situation.

"Well, that was...odd," Shirou summarized when he felt like they had been gone for an appropriate amount of time. Looking over, he immediately got an intimate sight of Ayako glaring face-to-face; enough so that he stumbled back and almost hit his head against the hall window behind him. "H-Hey!"

"Don't **hey** _me_ , Emiya!" Ayako sharply glowered with indignation in her voice. "What was up with you sidling up to that girl? You into foreign girls or something?!"

"First off, I'm not into any foreign anything, and stop including Illya into that category," He implored, looking nervously away from her back to the spot where Reines had stood only a minute ago. "Secondly, I was just trying to get you out of an obviously volatile situation. What I didn't count on was how scary she was," Enhancing this description, he looked over with a disconcerted look on his face while raising hands for emphasis. "Scarier than Tohsaka!"

"Is...is that why you stood there holding her hand?" The archer jock asked with bafflement, blinking with bewilderment enough to take a step back. "Because she scared you into submission?"

"It honestly felt almost like she paralyzed me. It was unsettling," He admitted with a visible shudder, making even Mitsuzuri look uncomfortable. "But, damn, I didn't know for sure that Issei had gotten himself a girlfriend. Not sure why she has such a stylish guy walking around him, though. Maybe they're family?"

"Yeah," Ayako cleared her throat, trying to appear inconspicuous to a brow-raising Shirou. "Anyways, what brings you to school? I already saw the work you did on the Dojo, so I don't think you needed to come back for that reason."

"Ah, well," Shirou began to formulate the orchestrated cover story for Saber's presence, especially since she had just shown up the previous night. He didn't want to give her any bad impressions, especially since he's seen more of her recently than anybody else; someone who may try and question things too much if prompted. "A friend of my father's just came by last moment late last night. So I might be missing some classes next week, so I wanted to handle that while also getting some material to catch up over the weekend."

"Friend of Kiritsugu's?" She questioned, her countenance changing to one of fascination over the obvious implication of missing school. "I remember you talking about your dad, and how mysterious he was. How does this friend of Kiritsugu look? Dour and depressing?"

"More like stoic and stubborn."

"Yes, definitely a friend of the family's," Ayako quipped with a cheery grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Shirou exclaimed.

"Obviously I should've added dense to your genealogical adjectives, Emiya," She intoned with a forward poke to his forehead. As he grimaced, rubbing his head, she placed her hands on her hips and shook her head, letting out a belated sigh. "Honestly, no wonder women push you around. If you were just slightly more consciously aware, you might be able to match wits with even Tohsaka, despite your bluntness."

"I sincerely doubt it," He rolled his eyes with exasperation. "Number One Student and owns most of Fuyuki City, I rather not try and take a swing at matching my limited witticisms with the likes of that."

"See, that's smart!" She exuberantly swung her hands with a gesture and a halfway sincere smile; while the other cracked a bit at the deadpan look he gave her.

"Was that even a compliment, Mitsuzuri?" Shirou questioned dourly.

"I mean it, really," Ayako tried to encourage him, playfully nudging him in the shoulder with a fist, returning it back to rest on her hips as she beamed visibly before him. "When you know your own shortcomings, that makes you that much more resourceful. If I know anything from your time as a stellar archer at our club, when you focus on something, you really dedicate yourself."

"Thanks," He replied with sincerity, warmth exuding from his grin as his eyes looked back at hers. "This was a good talk, all things considering."

"I'm always around, Emiya," Ayako insisted with suggestive bow of her upper body, her face angling dangerously close to his face while her hands rested at the small of her uniform covered back. Cutely, she batted her eyes and turned her head while wryly smiling at him. "Unless you want to cash in on that reward from doing such a damn good job on the Dojo?"

At first, Shirou's mind completely blanked. Reward? What was he doing to insist on being thanked in any way that was a compensation? The night before was such a blurred rush to him that he forgot that the first thing that incited the domino effect of cascading him into this secret Mage war was something he agreed to do, albeit reluctantly. He thought it was unnecessary, or something she was doing out of desperation, but now he wondered if it was a good idea what with things happening.

Then he remembered Shinji might have been isolated when he was taken and then used as a trap for him.

With a suddenness prompted by this traumatic reminder, he reached out and grabbed Ayako's shoulders and nearly pulled her into his body as he said with a serious expression on his face, "Yes, let's do that!"

"H-Huh?!" She recoiled, not used to Shirou taken such initiative of this nature until now. "D-Do what?!"

"The date! Let's go out tomorrow," He almost hurriedly said, looking straight into her eyes as he formed this plan in the back of his mind. "Is there a place you like to eat? Go see? Perhaps make a full day of this?!"

Off guard by this hurried insistent, Ayako wondered if she should've flippantly asked someone like Shirou out like this. Mulling over the proposition, she almost remembered how fetching Pyrrhos was, if not for his personal company; smug he may be, he was certainly handsome. Shaking her head, she decided that she shouldn't fret, and go with the flow.

"Let's just wing it," She grinned, feeling his hands awkwardly retreat back to his sides, earning a laugh from her at his retraction. "Don't worry about it, Emiya. It's nice to see you take charge, even if it is exactly as you do it; blunt and without grace."

"You need to work on your compliments, Mitsuzuri," He intoned exasperatedly, unable to suppress the lopsided smile on his face at the closeness he had with a long-formed friend like Ayako. Just for a moment, he remembered that spark of happiness he enjoyed from the time he spent with Kiritsugu, or just being in the Dojo at the beginning. For now, he'd let himself enjoy this bliss.

The cold reminder of his tragedy spurned survival would always come later, after all.

* * *

Saber had wondered what Shirou was doing once they separated. While the distance wasn't too significant, this was still a death trap waiting to happen. With the Bounded Field still being in place -even with Rin's help weakening it- she couldn't shake this feeling other factions were at play at the moment. Taking time to take in the sheer width of the school's halls, she maneuvered the relatively hollow structure that was sparsely populated unlike the rest of the week. As the Sun's rays gleamed from the other side of the structure's flank, she didn't get such a bright set of rays and only got a marginal supply of natural light with the artificial bulbs lining the path she walked upon.

Just as she wondered if she should check a place outside of the building, she was drawn to a sudden opening and closing of a classroom door. Outward, it came a man dressed in a deep emerald suit with a white collar and tie neatly tucked in its folds. At first it seemed like he was going to take the folders under his arm and go about his business, but stopped and turned to scowl despondently at the woman.

"Young lady," The teacher began to address her in an authoritative, if not condescending manner. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Excuse you?" Saber reacted defensively, her eyes knitted into a frown and her countenance became defensive.

"Your shoes," He looked down, seeing that she was still wearing hiking boots over her feet up her calves. "It's customary to not wear outdoor shoes indoors. Please use the spare indoor shoes we have assorted in the entrances of our school grounds."

"Oh," She gaped, feeling a tinge of embarrassment crawl up her neck and reflected on her face in a coat of usually foreign red. Closing her eyes, she made a customary bow as she spoke back. "I'm sorry, forgive my rudeness."

"Just remember this from now on," He intoned with a dreariness as he began to take a step away, his back now aimed at her as he continued mysteriously. "Are you going to be coming here from now on, young lady?"

"Possibly," She answered cryptically, standing upright once more with a guarded stare towards his back. "Why?"

"Just be on your best behavior while visiting our grounds," He warned her, adjusting his glasses as he looked over one shoulder at her. "It'd be a shame if you set a bad example to the rest of the student body here, visitor or not. Good day, Miss."

Walking away, Saber felt the hairs prick up along her clothed arms and back, feeling a sense of uneasiness from this man. She swore that everyone in this school had some affiliation or inclusion in this Grail War and she was going to find what this mystery man's connection to it was!

A familiar Prana approaching made her remember her previous train of thoughts as she looked over at Shirou's approach with a smile.

"Ready to continue our search across the school grounds?"

"Sure," He replied, his smile sincere at their renewed task. "Let's not leave a stone unturned!"

"I see that you've regained your vigor, Shirou," She noted, arching a brow while a hint of mischief layered her voice. "Did something nice happen?"

"You could say that," Shirou mused, his brightness not dimming while concealing the information; much to his Servant's chagrin.

"As long as you don't do anything reckless or out of my sight, it should be fine," She proclaimed with a reading glance at him. Seeing his face contort to one of surprise, she knew her hunch was right as she deadpanned her glare at him. Turning away, the red-head scratched his chin while she enhanced her piercing eyes to extenuate her anger. "You aren't going to do something alone, are you?"

"I-It's not dangerous or anything," He replied defensively with a raise of his hands. "I'm just going out with a friend, is all."

"Out?" Saber queried with a furrowed brow of confusion.

"You know," Shirou tried to explain thusly, his face warming visibly as he looked away from her green eyes. "Like a date."

"Oh," She exhaled, her eyes blinking at this new information.

"Yeah," He replied, his voice trailing off in an awkward sigh.

"I can try to be discreet-"

"Saber," Shirou began to argue, only for her to walk around and in front of him, her face leaning towards his, causing him to rear back in recoiling discomfort. "Hey, I'm not going to drag you out to a meeting with Ayako, alright? It's just going to be weird if you're right next to us the whole time."

"Might I remind you, Shirou, that you have enemies who are willing to execute you on sight to limit witnesses AND ones who are willing to use human shields as bait!" Saber exclaimed, not even mindful of the volume her voice made in the nearly barren hallway they were occupying. "If I'm not watching you, you are defenseless against any Servant, let alone a trained Magus."

"I thought of that," The highschooler popped up, raising a finger up for emphasis as he tried to explain. "You don't have to be too far away, right? And if worse comes to worst, I can use a Command Seal for you to come at my side right away," In the middle of his explanation, he saw his Servant beginning to open her mouth, forcing him to shush her with a raise of his finger to her lips, earning her scowl as he delicately continued. "Which is why I thought, maybe I can have Archer and Illya watch us. Who knows? Maybe they can find an enemy who tries anything and you can help box them in through strategic combination!"

"That is not only reckless to bait yourself, but incredibly foolish," Saber began to retort, closing her eyes and raising a hand to rub the bridge of her nose. Inhaling deeply, she exhaled, looking back at him stoically as she did for such serious things; this being no exception. "Since our truce is still in effect, I suppose we can trust that this can work, regardless of the risk. However, I wonder what Rin would say about this whole mission you have for a simple outing with, Ayako was it?"

"I think it'd be awkward," He sagged visibly, his face contorting in grimace as he shuddered at the thought of telling her. "Ayako and her are actually kind of tight, best friends since awhile for different reasons. That's how I know Tohsaka at all, it's because we're connected through Mitsuzuri. It'd be weird if I asked her to help us have a date on her watch."

"Ah," Saber nodded, seeming to understand what he meant. "Well, as long as it's in a public place and not to be isolated, I'm sure we can at least make a convenient sweep to look out for Berserker, Rider or Assassin's masters while keeping an eye on your two's escapade. Not saying I like the idea of you taking off like this, but I can allow at least one day of fun before we get back to our very much serious task."

"Thanks," Shirou released tension through his nostrils, his shoulders unwinding as a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "I mean it, I'm glad that you still have my back."

"I have your everything in mind, Shirou," Saber replied, her frown exchanged with a smile. "I'll do all I can to make sure you're at one hundred percent. Both in body and spirit. If time with someone you cherish helps this, then I will do my best to compromise to make it happen."

"Yeah," He acknowledged, suddenly looking a little disconcerted as he thought about it. "I'm just not sure how Illya's supposed to take this whole thing. Or what she'll think?"

* * *

"I think it's a wonderful idea!" Illya proclaimed in a gleeful way befitting her childish stature. A number of faces constrewed levels of shock at the audacity of her willingness to go along with this, and she drank in their surprise like fine wine. Behind the silly smile and shining rubies for eyes, she had a sly grin befitting a tundra-borne serpent, observing them with a particular fancy in mind to this endeavor.

After all, they had finished their sweep of the school and seemed to turn up empty handed, with Tohsaka doing her own personal errands that she felt it wasn't theirs to be privy of. Her own search with Archer wasn't finding anything other than aforementioned crime scenes and beyond the obvious, they haven't found a lick of Rider or Assassin's whereabouts or their identities. Berserker, she had a few theories, but nothing concrete to mount a serious effort.

But, Shirou's unintentional use of himself and this school friend of his as bait? That felt like something that could really ruffle the feathers of the mutual predators that made up this rogues gallery of competitors in this Holy Grail War.

"Master," Archer began to interject, standing apart from her in the yard of the Fuyuki State with Saber and Shirou standing on the opposite end. Allowing him to speak, she deigned it appropriate to at least hear him out. After all, he had been remarkably patient with her fancies and whims, so she should at least reward his diligence in following orders. "I have several problems with this plan, beyond its merits."

"Speak freely, Archer," She commanded.

"First off, Shirou is an incompetent Magus and won't last long in the event one of the less stable mages or their Servants make a leap at him before we can stop their attack," He explained neutrally, though his tone was guttural and grated, his eyes coolly gracing over at the young man with an ire that only the Servant could harbor. "Not that I'd shed tears of an enemy Master getting his comeuppance, but it could be without fruit and the point of our exercise would be pointless."

"I'd be close enough that I can intercept even Rider, if the worst is to happen," Saber countered, readily playing Devil's Advocate to Shirou's plan, surprising the red-haired teenager as she gestured to her coat covered bosom with confidence. "It is unlikely Berserker can attack in public, due to his very vampiric nature of aversion to the Sun. Until the Sun's completely set, you cannot say I can be bested in single combat should I bar their assault."

"Sure, perhaps Rider could be stopped if the Servant isn't using a Noble Phantasm that could surpass your abilities of speed," He agreed, though looked unconvinced of the proposition itself. Narrowing his eyes, he pointedly asked something else pertinent. "But tell me, could you stop Assassin if you never saw it coming?"

"My Instincts-"

"Won't mean a damn if you aren't able to pierce Presence Concealment," He brushed off her explanation with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms with a shake of his head. "This whole effort is pointless. Why even tempt fate when you know this whole effort is going to be for naught? You're going to get yourself and your friend killed. Or worse, you live and she dies," He then honed in on Shirou's face, bringing out a paled complexion as he snarled at him fiercely. "Isn't your conscience burdening you enough without another life added to the pile, Shirou Emiya?"

"That's enough, Archer!"

EMIYA found himself recoiling with surprise at the voice that told him this. His face twitched and his eyes turned to look at Illya, whose glare sideglanced him with a look that told him this wasn't a negotiation. Bristling with indignation, he clicked his tongue against his teeth, taking a brief satisfaction of the look of momentary despair that crossed his deluded counterpart's face.

Then, he chanced to speak his mind, after everyone else had said their piece.

"I know that I'm asking a lot of you," His gaze drew to the ground, spaced out and his complexion paled from the jarring reminder of the screams and the bodies littering the burning streets he treaded upon ten years ago. "It sounds really stupid when you point out the obvious like that. And you're right, it is foolish. But, Shinji died because I couldn't even realize that he was involved in this danger too," Looking up at Saber, he'd turn to look at Illya and then the scowling Archer with arm raised emphasis. "Ayako doesn't have a place that's not in the line of fire like Issei, or a fancy mansion, like Tohsaka. She's not even a Mage, and the thought of somebody targeting her to get to me is just...is just...terrifying!"

Shaking at the thought of Ayako possibly being impaled, similar to how Shinji was, made his stomach tie into knots and his paled skin emit cold sweat that began to drop coldly from his jaw and off his neck.

"I promised her that in exchange for cleaning the Dojo, we'd go on a date," He muttered, almost talking more to himself than anyone present. His smile was pained and his brow quivering with his lips as he confessed aloud. "I'm not sure if this is going to be a disaster or the best day of my life. I'm not even if sure Ayako likes me that way; or if I like her that way. But, she means a lot to me. Of the people in my life I feel that way, I don't think I'd rather have such a reckless time with than her," Looking up, he pulled back his agonizing expression into one of controlled fierceness, the likes of which brought a look of approval from Saber, wonderment from Illya and a mask of irritation from Archer. "All I want to know is if the worst could happen, I want to know she is protected this time, and that she's kept from a fate like Shinji's was."

"You have my sword, Shirou," Saber reassured him with a strong hand placed onto his shoulder, earning a relieved smile -once again- from the red-head. "I'll always protect you and those you love."

"As I said before, I think it's a fantastic idea to stir things up and let you have some fun," Illya remarked with a sing-song note, gesturing with a finger as she smiled too lightheartedly. "After all, this wouldn't work in reverse if I wanted to have fun. You're not as strong as I am, are you, Shirou?"

"That's not true, Illya," Shirou responded, much to her renewed surprise, complemented by blinking rubies and an 'o' shape for her mouth. Raising a hand up, he clenched it into a fist and grinned confidently himself. "I'd make sure you'd have the best time ever and protect you from harm. They wouldn't get by me, I swear!"

"I don't believe that," She dismissed, almost coldly, to his and Saber's shock. Walking forward, her steps seemed to hold an abysmal weight to them that the son of Kiritsugu didn't notice. When her silvery head passed by him, her red eyes cynically cast his way before resuming -almost robotically- a convincing expression of childishness as she piped up. "I'm hungry, Shirou! Let's eat!~"

"S-Sure," He nodded, feeling himself at a loss what he did to make her upset like she did.

"It is getting later," Saber noted with a turn of her head at the horizon. "Sun will set in a few hours. We can probably do for some training after a snack to be ready for Dinner. After that, we should patrol a bit."

"Sounds like a plan," Archer acknowledged her without realizing it. Even as she turned, he gruffly dismissed himself, his body flickering into its mana state and left them alone in the courtyard.

While the Heroic Spirit looked momentarily at the troubled look on her Master's face, Shirou couldn't help but wonder.

Wonder why Illya looked liked a completely different person when she openly doubted him?

* * *

 **A/N** : This was a long time coming. I know this was a popular fic in its own right (see Maverick for its own brand of attraction) but I got distracted by RL and other projects that needed my attention. Plus, I had hit a rut in that this was a more improvisational chapter. While it has the trappings of it carrying on the same path the VN's do (like going to school the next day and all that) I had to come up with my own confrontations and variations of conversations that happened. But now that I have the plot's seeds sown, I can reap the delivery later.

Got some lovely foreshadowing sprinkling in here. With the mysterious pair, Reimes and Pyrrhos, to Kuzuki addressing Saber in his cryptic manner and Illya showing her true face for the first time to Shirou, a lot of things are becoming unraveled at the seams. Also, a date to be made with Ayako Mitsuzuri with Shirou Emiya. I bet you guys didn't think I was going to follow through on that alluded date earlier, did ya? Well it's happening, haha!

Hopefully nothing bad happens...

See you all in the next update!


	6. Death In The Dark

"I Sprinkle Ashes Over The Remains Of Your Bones." A chant of a soft melody released into the air, several nights before the present one Shirou and his band of truce-bound allies were about to embark. The red light emitting from her left wrist, shaped like pair of teeth surrounded by a heart outline, was shining brightly in the nauseously inhabited cellar; the training room, affectionately called by Zouken Matou, the Head of the Matou Household.

Said ashes she sprinkled over a collection of bones, calcified and recovered from the homeland of this avatar they seek to call upon, she did her best to ignore the collection of maggots crawling on and around her ankles as she continued to siphon on the magic they provided.

"Scouring The World For A Ceaseless Rest, I Call For Thee," She continued, the circle created out of maggot blood was lit aflame in a deep burgundy, Mana bursting forth like an inferno that shook the chamber. The worms collectively shrieked, wildly crackling in moist crescendo as a strong Prana was being cast, with others biting into the undersides of the summoner's legs.

Still, she persisted, the glow of her hand brimming true and the circle's Mana rising up higher still.

"Etched In Blood, Scarred By Light, Impaled As You've Impaled. Hero And Villain, I Command Ye As Both Monster And Lord!" She continued to chant, feeling the painful jolts of her body's Mana Circuits set ablaze within herself as she focused. Blocking out the pain, she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, her eyes fixated on the task at hand. She knew grandfather was watching, just in the corner, amidst the maggots that tortured her and fed on her in exchange for more spare energy.

In the last leg of her ritual, she cried out in a rare voice of fury, her emotions surging to the fore in a manner unbecoming of her passively gentle and kind demeanor; now one of outrage and despair as she screamed as tears welled up within her eyes. "Let Thy Madness Be An Instrument To Your Work And I Will Embody All The Righteousness In Your Stead. I Call Your Name, Berserker!"

The blaze shot up into the ceiling with a thuum, releasing a gout of ashen-smoke, blowing back in a way that stifled the excited cries of the maggots and pushed them back by its sheer volume. The Prana of the Heroic Spirit called upon was immediately recognized, shaking the confines of the hold and the structure of the mansion itself. A deep red bristled behind the cloud of smoke, making the summoner's eyes widen despite the noxious fumes that licked at her stinging eyes.

" **I have heard your call,** " His voice resonated aloud, angular eyes glowered behind the smog's shadow, looking at Sakura's wide eyes. " **Are you my Master?** "

She released her hold on her bleeding lip, now covering it as she looked a cross between mortification and shame. Looking to the side, her bangs covered her eyes in shame, her breath releasing in a ragged sigh.

"You don't need to worry about looking for your Master," A slimy voice ebbed from the staircase, approaching from the far side of the chamber. From the Heroic Spirit's perspective it was a puny and pathetic creature, holding its head higher than its shoulders should allow. Deep blue hair combed to either side, showing its forehead down to the trimmed brows and a rounded, pointed face that grinned too assuredly to match the doubt lingering in its eyes. Waving a hand, he addressed the collection of maggots that revealed an older man, and spoke to him directly past the spirit. "Isn't that right, Grandfather?"

"Ha!" He barked out, causing Shinji to briefly wince, but not let his smile disappear as he was sure of what was to come. Sneering behind a wrinkled grin, he kept his hand on a gnarled cane while his other hand wrapped around his leaning back's lower half, showing his age in more ways than just appearance. "You didn't summon this Heroic Spirit and yet you lay claim before a pact is made before me? You have a lot of nerve, boy," Diminishing his sneer, he looked to the lavender haired girl, still dressed in her school uniform, looking dour and ashamed of her own lack of will as tears dried in red marks over her cheeks. "Unless the summoner here doesn't wish to participate in this war, and wishes a way out, I can make an exception. Or do you wish to fight, Sakura?"

She was quiet, still, and aghast in turmoil. The Servant could practically drink in her despair that radiated her as assuredly as the dank atmosphere was suffused in. This nauseating environment only served to further his ire, and his burning eyes glared at Zouken only to see him cast an astute stare of caution. Patiently awaiting his question to be answered, the specter looked back to the girl as she asked a single pertinent question.

"Do I have to kill all of the Masters?" Her voice shook as she asked, but her eyes shone nothing but a certainty that enhanced her wallowing.

Chuckling dryly, Zouken angled his neck as he grinned a bit with his own brand of cruel humor, "I can allow you to keep one as a pet, just make sure he can't use Command Spells or his Servant is destroyed."

A twinkle of light shone in those purple eyes, her mouth opening and her breath hitched. But the dawning realization of what he meant by 'pet' made her her stifle any hint of hope that she had in her grandfather's answer. Closing her mouth slowly, she lowered her blood-stained fingers down to the other hand, clenching them at her lap as she bowed apologetically to him.

"T-Then I don't wish to fight! P-Please allow my brother to do so!"

"He doesn't have Magic Circuits, so this will have to be done in the Matou manner," Zouken intoned, clacking his cane on the ground while his lower form glided like a snake over the maggots. Gesturing his wooden instrument to a spot before her feet, he ordered her without words, and she nodded her head while rising back upright. Raising her wrist, she winced at the pain of her Command Seal and a definitive hissing was made on her skin as the brand lessened by one third.

Within the demonic pile of maggots rose up a human skin leather book, markers that were centuries old and whose words were indecipherable to any Modern Magus without knowing age old secrets. The maggots themselves erected upwards, allowing Zouken to grasp it, admiring its work and looking to Sakura with a look of approval. Gliding past her, he didn't lash out or even speak; just sighing with disappointment in a way that cut deeply into Sakura after the decade of torture she was preparing for this war.

"Shinji," Zouken addressed his grandson, now dangerously sinister as his smile wasn't one of just mockery but one of a promise. It made the small serpent recoil and his smile quiver, even permeating cold swear across his neck at the sight of his elder acting this way. Still, he held the book out to him, chuckling raspily as he did. "Take hold of your responsibility as representative of the Matou Family. Bring the Clan victory, as your duty allows you as the heir; fail me, and this line dies with you."

"Tch!" He clicked his tongue with a curling sneer of his own, snatching the book out of his elder's grasp out of spite. "As if I'd fail!" Turning, he'd look at Sakura and spit outward with venom. "I'm not her! I'm a true Magus of the Matou Family!"

"Then prove it," The Matou Elder inclined, gesturing towards the living smog that glared with a near disembodied presence. "Command your Servant."

Turning, he slowly looked over at the shadow, and reared back as it suddenly maneuvered from the end of the room, instantly appearing before him. Towering over him, the black mist continued to hiss like ever-present steam, smelling like burnt flesh as it stared down at him. It drank in his fear, even as it mounted up a facade of courage while holding a book up towards him, held tight in his deluded grasp.

"So, first order of business I'd like you to-"

" **No**."

Shinji gaped, and his mouth hung in an open smile of confusion, simply emitting a, "Huh?"

" **I asked only the Summoner if she is my Master. She hasn't answered my question. Until such a time that I ask this question to another, I won't take any other as substitute,** " Leering down, its voice emitted a waft of dried blood that made Shinji gag, but also quiver in trepidation at his presence. " **I do not take scavengers or extortionists. Let alone a worm beneath maggots like you.** "

Despite his fear, he clenched his chattering teeth long enough for him to begin rambling aloud, "You reject me? You think I'm not good enough?"

Grimacing, he shook with indignation, looking down with sweat profusely pouring from his brow and scalp, the collar of his uniform beginning to stain, "What kind of sick joke?! What kind of fucking answer is that?!"

Raising his book, Shinji's voice caused it to bristle with a violet hue, its crackling energies binding over the Servant via Sakura's Command Seal as he cried aloud with vindication; ignoring a stifled cry she emitted that only the Servant could hear. "You see this? This means I'm in charge now! Not that worthless tramp over there! Me! Shinji Matou! Now be a good dog and obey my word-!"

Light seemed to evaporate in the chambers and the worms screamed. A stifling aura enveloped the whole of the underground vault as only a pair of blood red eyes seemed to swell in enormity before Shinji and Shinji alone. Zouken was gone. Sakura was no longer there. Not even the maggots that served as his grandfather's familiars. He was completely at the mercy of this towering monstrosity; this Servant was on a completely different level than he fathomed, and it was showing him why.

" **Little man. Little worm. Little Shinji,** " It chided him, crimson lights like a pair of Hellish rays shining over him like a theatrical spotlights, belonging to a narrator of unwelcome presence and authority. " **Do you think yourself important with that book? Do you believe yourself superior because of your blood? Do you doubt your betters from handing you your own noose when you believe it your medallion of pride? Foolish worm. Foolish man. Foolish Shinji.** "

Leaning down, its lights nearly blinding to the knee buckling Shinji, his body soaking in his own fluids and his lips pressed tightly against each other while his eyes locked paralyzed to the spirit's unrelenting glare. It was like looking at a Shinigami in the flesh, a god of darkness that was holding his life in its hand. It wasn't enough to simply to show its power over him, its authority, but also demean him in the most humiliating ways; worse, he couldn't even focus on the book in his hand that was keeping this monster under his control.

" **The longer you hold onto that book, the more I am convinced you have no worth to me as a Master, a Vassal or even as a slave. You are nothing to me,** " It breathed out in dismissal, disappearing, and returning the dim lighting of the Matou basement, along with a fear ridden young man.

He stared in place for a few more seconds before looking left and right, realizing he was gone, leaving him alone with a cackling Zouken and an ashamed Sakura. Holding the book in his hand, he looked down at it and shakily raised it in his grip. A hint of a twisted smile broke onto his face, delusion taking hold of him in a coping mechanism.

"With a Servant this strong, and a little discipline, I-I could be unstoppable!" He said to himself, walking up the stairs with his smile faltering halfway as he remembered its last words. "I'll show you, Servant! I'm far greater than you are, dead man! I'll prove it to you and everyone just who is deserving of the Holy Grail!"

* * *

Several nights later, and nightfall has begun for those in the Emiya Estate. Taiga had come by after a day spent at the school, making her usual conversation and making a bit of a rousing commotion over Saber's stay in addition to Illya's. Still, with a little persuasion, they made it work and the Servant's own history with Kiritsugu bought enough of a favor from the landlord's daughter to agree to it under her supervision; whatever that meant.

Shirou managed to fit in some painful practice with swordsmanship with Saber, finding himself drawn to her excellent posture and ferocious dexterity. Even without the user of her superb magic fueled craft and invisible sword, she was still leagues above what his athletic teenage body was. Still, he showed enough tenacity and learned just enough to hone some innate habits to better his survival skills in the coming future.

This prompted him to bring along a couple of Bouken in a backpack filled with miscellaneous items he wished to use in case of a pinch. While he was no proper Magus by a long shot, his Reinforcement allowed him to make use of items he was more familiar with to use as weapons. Like his night with Lancer, as long as he had something he could work with, it bought him just that much extra time.

Exiting the home, he rendezvoused with Rin and Illya not far from the end of the street they all lived on, all accompanied by their Servants at once.

"Alright, what's the game plan?" Shirou asked his voice releasing a shaky sigh in the crisp winter air of Fuyuki's night.

"We still don't know about the other two Servants at work here, and we aren't aware of Berserker's Master," Rin briefed, her arms crossing over her chest as she hugged her crimson coat tightly over her standard Magus attire. With Caster disembodied and concealed, Rin looked to be holding a folded variant of the black cloak she wore the night before and seemed to only keep it on standby at the moment. "I think it'd be best if we look around Miyama Town and split up from there. That's where a series of unexplained murders cropped up right before the battles happened we participated in last night."

Shirou's mind briefly flashed to Sakura, and he wondered scarcely if she was aware of this Holy Grail War. His mouth opened, but then doubt sprung back to the fore and he bit his tongue, looking away. Unfortunately, he was noticed by practically everybody present but only one person thought to ask.

"Shirou?" Saber inquired with a turn of her poncho covered head. "Does this not sound like a proper course of action?"

"No, it does," He wavered, his eyes drifting back towards the vine encroached home of the Matou household. "I'm just...worried about Sakura. It's been two days since I saw her and the last thing I remember was how freaked out she was about the mass murders happening in Miyama Town. It's not like her to be isolated this long."

"It is the weekend," Illya dismissed with a shrug. "She's probably just tired after this week and resting."

"Yeah, maybe that's it," The red-head nodded with a reluctant smile.

"Let's not get distracted, Emiya," Rin chastised him, brushing her hair as she scowled at his frowning face. "Don't give me that look. We're out here to hunt other Mages and their Servants. I'd rather you not lose focus when we're in a pinch."

"Fine," He brusquely answered. "Miyama Town is a good place to start as far as suspicious places go. If anything, that's where I'd suspect Assassin is hiding."

"Why would that be?" Illya piped up curiously.

"Because," The ginger turned, replying to the silver-haired girl while Saber and Rin listened attentively. "Given what we know from what's been reported, the corpses of the victims had been dead for awhile, and unlike the missing ones, it happened while the Sun was still in the sky. If we know anything about Berserker, it seems he works only in the cover of night. In addition," He looked to Tohsaka and Saber now, raising a hand up to show two erect fingers for emphasis. "The media failed to mention that the authorities had found two sets of victims that are actually unrelated to each other. The missing bodies with bloodstains are reportedly pierced and possibly drained of blood before hauled off. The corpses found in some abandoned building and an alley adjacent had their hearts torn open; either from the back or the chest, while having some bladed wounds on their throats or bellies and a few of them with their legs and arms with lacerated tendons."

"That's disturbing," Rin noted aloud, her brows furrowing and she propped a hand up by an elbow to cup her mouth as she looked down in pondering thought. As if she was spoken to by her Servant, she nodded and didn't say anything audible. Then, for clarification to the others, she looked up with piercing blue orbs confirming the damning evidence. "It's likely that Shirou is right, but given the style of the missing bodies, it is likely that's where Berserker got the extra ghouls from that spawned in the graveyard."

"So he planted them in the cemetery?" Illya asked rhetorically, now looking a bit amused with a thin smile of macabre appreciation. "That's sly. I didn't consider that he shouldn't have been able to raise the dead like a Necromancer, but their vampiric attributes should've given them away. Clever Berserker, clever."

"Those were innocent people, Illya," Shirou rebuked her firmly, earning a dry look from her smile vanishing face. "You shouldn't approve of such a disgusting way of using bystanders!"

"It's a common tactic in wars to use populaces to their advantage, Emiya," Rin corrected him, earning a sharp turn of his head and his immediate glare. Sighing, she matter-of-fact waved her hand as she cut off a potential spat. "It's not like I stoop to that level, but it's a bit pretentious to tell another Magus what is or isn't fair game. Isn't that right, Einzbernz?"

"Of course, Tohsaka," The white haired girl replied, coldly staring back at the stony expression the taller brunette shone back. "I will use any strategy as long I can achieve my ultimate objective. Not that I won't have fun doing it, but it's why I'm here in the first place."

"Is that all I was to you?" He turned, now feeling hurt enough to show a bit of venom in his pained expression. "A convenience?!"

"Oh Shirou," She twirled her coat covered dress, placing her hands behind the small of her back as she flashed a childish grin as she closed the scarlet orbs in a sign of cheer. "It was fun playing pretend with you! But like all good things," Her red eyes opened, now a darker crimson and her smile thinned more as a colder voice echoed her visage, as if mismatching her stature and previous experience he had with her. "Sooner or later, you have to wake up from a fairy tale and remember you're in the real world. And like reality, it can be cruel, cold, and quite ironic in how things like _fate_ work, don't you think?"

"Illya-!"

"That's enough," Rin calmly interrupted, her voice cutting between them as she stepped smoothly between the pair. With arms crossed, she closed her eyes and peered through at Shirou first, "I don't know your personal history with this girl, but we have more important things than who used who or what lies have been told," Looking back at Illya, she icily addressed her just as before if not just a bit more edge after what she heard. "But I won't be a part of this alliance if all you do is provoke him or I needlessly. We are doomed to fail if this continues, so I suggest you keep any grudges or bygones to yourselves until we've defeated at the very least, Berserker. After that," She hair-flipped, turning around with her hand propped on a hip and the other spinning over the shoulder to exemplify her attitude best. "You two can kill each other in your sleep for all I care."

"I agree with Rin," Saber neutrally affirmed, looking to Shirou with warning in her eyes to not argue the matter further. "We should carry on more properly as combatants with mutual enemies that need to be removed for all of our sake. Putting any one Master personally above one's self is tantamount to suicide."

"I'm with Saber," Archer gruffly stated, causing Illya to turn up and scowl at him from her diminutive height, but he just wryly smirked at her while speaking uninterrupted. "I'd feel much better about killing you people when I don't have to worry about watching my shadow with Dracula lurking in it."

"Fine," The red-head huffed, his eyes staring crossly at a pouting Illya. "We'll settle this when we get home tonight."

"No we won't," She answered simply. "I won't allow it to end so mercifully."

* * *

From that point on, Shirou felt tension that wasn't there since the previous day. Illya's attitude had dramatically shifted ever since he told her that he'd protect her and do everything in his power to save her from deliberate harm. Her callous change from glee to dismissal was so chilling she seemed like a doll; designed to appear innocent but truly cold to the touch and without a real heart.

Looking over to his Servant, he saw that she looked troubled for a different reason. Cagey as she was, ever since he mentioned Illya back when she materialized, she had something to tell him that she was reluctant in sharing. What she did say left him feeling more confused and lost. What was Illya's mother doing in Fuyuki with the Grail War going on? Was she a Master too? How was his father connected?

These questions had to be answered and he knew he had to confront Illya about it. It didn't matter how many times it'd take, he'd eventually get her to say why she has this disbelief that he could protect her or why she treated their time together as nothing more than a fabrication. No one simply just flips a switch and says they didn't mean any of it.

" _I don't believe you were honest with me, Illya, not entirely,_ " He thought with conviction, his gaze growing more sharp and his determination restored for a different purpose involving with his surrogate sister. " _I'm going to make you confess your grudge with me, Illya. One way or the other, I won't allow this bitterness to continue festering inside of you!_ "

"Shirou," His Servant finally spoke up, almost startling him with how quiet their trek has been. Looking over, he'd see her piercing eyes look at him worriedly, her face reflecting a concern he hadn't seen up until this point. "What Illyasviel said...I'm sorry I didn't rebuke her sooner."

"Don't worry about it," The red-head tried to dismiss with a wave of his hand. "I don't know what's gotten into her, but this isn't like her. I'm sure I just touched a raw nerve and she's just trying to get back at me."

"Is she known for acting in a malicious way?"

"Not at all," The high school student responded, looking around an alley corner carefully, making sure he didn't see anything out of the ordinary on the path they strode on. "Mysterious, sure, and cryptic definitely. But she's never acted mean in any regard. Why?"

"It is perhaps correct to assume she has been using you. Mages are notorious for using lies and misdirection to gain things that are advantageous to them. But, personally, I don't see an advantage in setting up a base in your home," She answered simply.

"Really?" Shirou asked cynically, cocking a brow and giving her a scrunched up expression. "What makes you say that?"

"Nothing prevented Lancer from attacking you in your home, correct?" Saber answered without skipping a beat, making him wince at remembering that. "And from what I recall, other than a generally appealing atmosphere to perform your craft, there's nothing that keeps outsiders from getting in outside of the gate and wall. No Boundary Field, no traps of any kind and certainly no guards."

"What's your point?" The ginger frowned at her with downplayed intrigue.

"The point is, I don't think she ever let it slip she was using you for her own ends," The Heroic Spirit intoned, looking to him with a raised brow as she mentioned thus. "I recall her saying 'playing pretend' and that 'she wouldn't let it end so mercifully'. Whatever the case is, this isn't about the Holy Grail War. This is-"

"-something personal," Shirou mouthed, confirming what he was just now suspecting in his head.

Before he could delve deeper into his theory, he heard a familiar cry not far away. Exchanging a look with Saber, they both nodded and began running at the same pace down the road and turning a sidewalk to the source of the voice. Given Miyama Town was an older district of Fuyuki, not many people wandered outside and there was next to no vehicular traffic they had to worry about. So if there was a scream, that could only mean one thing-

"What is it-?"

Blood. Bile. Guts.

Eyes widened palpably as he bore witness to what was a horrific sight of gore propped up in the middle of an alley, a single victim piked like a morbid idol or a warning of Feudal standards. The red-head knew that, with Shinji who was simply pinned in place to slowly bleed to death, this person was butchered and propped in place to be found. From the smell, the sight of red and the wafting steam coming from the entrails that made Shirou gag upon sight and smell; this was a _very_ recent kill.

Standing near it was Rin, whom looked like she had recomposed herself by the time they had arrived, holding a sleeve over her mouth to suppress vomiting herself as she was only a meter away in inspecting the materials the victim wore. Her hand rifled through what could've been clothing beyond the blood that soaked it, ignoring the head pointing erect with a jagged spike thrust out of its orifice; among the other places that held it up in a spreadeagled posture of impalement.

As if she found something, she retrieved what looked like a piece of jewelry that had some smattering of the dank liquid suffusing the victim. Wiping it away, she looked at it closely while Saber walked forward to inspect closer, seeming to stomach the sight far easier than they did. Brushing it away with her fingers, her eyes stretched and she looked to Shirou, beckoning him to come closer.

Pale as he was, the boy came closer, coughing as he smelled more of the recently deceased man(?). Presenting to him, his yellow-hazel eyes looked intensely at what could only be ascribed as a organization crest on a ring. He didn't know whom it belonged, but the fact Rin recognized it, made her convinced of whose identity this could be.

"This belongs to one of the factions based in the Clock Tower, the headquarters for pretty much all organized Magecraft in the world," She explained to him in a hushed tone, as a similar worry was exchanged between them of the killer being nearby. Looking over, she wordlessly took in the grisly sight with Shirou, the latter of which contorted his face in a visage of pure disgust.

"So, he was-"

"-A Master," Saber affirmed grimly, brushing away some blood to reveal the outermost etchings on an impaled hand that still had the crest in place on his person. "It seems Berserker knew to destroy the Seals. They can be salvaged by the Overseer, or worse, by a talented Magus who knows the secret of utilizing it. Given their power is equal to that of True Magic in this day and age of Magecraft, it seems likely he left it to no chance that it could be used against him."

"But, if this is a Master..." Shirou trailed off, stumbling in a half circle as he reached for his first Bouken, drawing it slowly in a vain attempt to be discreet.

In his head turn, he saw something that made his blood go cold. Even as Rin was still looking at the gem encrusted ring, a white mask surrounded in shadow rose upward behind her, completely silent and even bypassing the periphery of Saber's sight; whom was still turned the other way at the time. He realized the only reason, this instant, he saw this Servant was because he managed to be alarmed enough to even look in its direction while everyone unaware fell victim to a skill he had only heard in a previous conversation: _Presence Concealment_.

He didn't have time to do a proper trace of his object. Pouring as much Mana, carelessly exciting the circuits enough to make his veins feel like they were on fire, he lurched his body forward and took a step forward. Dilated pupils saw the shadow withdrew an arm, its hand holding of what looked like it long, serrated blades along the recesses of its fingers. Sweat sloughed off him as he pushed forward, adrenaline surging through him as he stepped off the ground in his haste.

The five fold of black stained steel was swinging down, the arc visible to his eyes, making his head hurt as he took in every detail and every concept of its make-up. He knew, even a passing scratch could be lethal to Rin. Thus, he couldn't simply deflect it. Not with the weapon he was charging. No, he had to stop its momentum and veer it off course. Based on the angle of the white face, it didn't hone in on him; was it because it sought the strongest Magus of the pair between them?

Halfway to its goal, Shirou chanced it in between another legged stride, hurling a luminous veined Bouken that was on the verge of exploding. Much in the same way he saw Archer throw his own swords at Berserker, he took a mental note that the arching motion was similar to how he had once gestured in that daunting battle. Barely any time to think of anything else, he kept running, now catching Rin's attention as she saw the thrown weapon and him running forward with nothing but fierce intensity; something that Saber saw with immediate horror in recognition of the current threat.

"Emiya-!"

"-SHIROU!"

As the brunette Magus was letting out a yelp, Saber let out a hallowed cry of the peril she was witnessing. Thankfully, just before the blades could get past the mere foot or so of space to cut through the Mage's clothes and into her flesh, the Bouken struck its face in a brief TOK! sound...

...just before exploding into wooden shrapnel in a flash of light and lacquered debris.

"GAK!" It nasally cried out, its arm faltering and whiffing just barely as Shirou tackled Rin to the ground, rolling her away forcefully from the proximity of the dazed Servant. Amidst his panic fueled rush, he saw Saber's poncho outlined person leap -metal lined skirt ripping over his and his catch's faces- as her metal boots barely touched the ground in her furious motion to strike at the offender. The sound of metal striking metal was heard, and in his shoulder to back revolution, his eyes saw the other Servant's hands spark in deflecting her attack, only skidding backward on what was clearly legs and not just the darkness like he thought.

Boring a ragged cloak that seemed to envelop its person, its finger-bladed arm stretched out of the cloak as if bypassing some hidden sleeve he couldn't see. Ending his roll, he'd notice that he was hunched over, crouched as if never standing upright out of habit in its style of fighting. Despite the impact he had made with his projectile he saw no hint of marring on the mask; save for a small amount of soot from where the edge of the Bouken had made on its face.

"A-Assassin?!" Rin gawked, still in shock from the whole ordeal of being yanked aside by Shirou, the timid Shirou Emiya who cowered before women and was paralyzed in battle when Berserker was revealed. Was this the same Shirou?

"Seems that way," He mulled aloud, still unmoving as he tensely held her against him.

"Uh...Shirou-"

"Not now, Tohsaka!"

"Can I get up?" She asked, his face turning to see she was looking with a cute hint of embarrassment he's never seen on her before. Her face blushed, her eyes quivered and her lips pursed in a way that showed her discomfort. His own face flushed, his breath quickened and eyes was held in place for this spare moment. It was as if the two were just aware of their own biological sex and their mutual attraction to one another.

Then, Shirou remembered the smell, and the fact that the sound of Assassin striking at Saber brought him back to clarity.

"S-Sorry," He apologized, getting off her while using his hands to haul her up by her own. Graciously accepting, she dusted off the cloak she had held underarm, now slinking up and around her shoulders in order to fasten it over her clothes. Now covered in a teal trimmed black cloak, she observed as Saber did battle with this unknown assailant, clashing repeatedly in scant but feints and counters, never anything of a direct attack to the well armored warrior opposing him.

The fight seemed to drag on for awhile when the pair felt something uneasy about this situation. The impaled victim was definitely a Master -of Rider or Assassin, it wasn't clear- but it was waiting for them to have turned their backs to each other before striking its prime target. Yet, even when there is no visible way for them to lose sight of it, it was pursuing with a tenacity that was borderline stupid for its Class; yet, it was still matching blows with Saber all the same.

"Assassin," Saber addressed him, holding her Invisible Air wrapped sword as she stood defensively in another expertly woven swing that sent it rearing back. "Is that your Master, impaled back there?"

"It was," Its voice croaked, speaking in a guttural tongue that was befitting of its appearance. "But I no longer serve a dead man."

"Then whom do you fight for?" The King of Knights asked with a furrowed brow.

The voice let loose a deep laugh, the nearby street lamps flickering on and off as he did. In the cacophony of its flashing, it'd suddenly dim and Artoria's eyes opened to see nothing but a pitch blackness take-over their entire environment. She could smell the stench in the alleyway, the taste of blood and bile in the air, and hear the two Masters behind her; even feel the blade still in her grip. No, it's simple that she couldn't see anything, at all.

" **Zabaniya: Delusional Blackout,** " It muttered aloud, its voice echoing from her left, causing Saber to swing and hit nothing but air. " **It's no use, Saber. My Noble Phantasm allows me to ensnare everyone in a pitch black environment that cuts off your visual spectrum entirely. You cannot find me, no matter how much you struggle. But I can still find you.** "

"If you think cutting off my sight is enough to win, you are overestimating yourself, Assassin!" She barked out, closing her own eyes as if to prove a point. Breathing deeply she inhaled and exhaled, readying herself. Strengthening her other senses, she opened herself to her Instinct, and poured her Mana into a circling wind that buffeted the entrance of the alley, shuddering the foundation of brick and mortar to the slick pavement still wet with blood.

As if to note a discrepancy in the air, she turned on her heel and thrust her sword, crying out, "O' Wind, Erupt!" firing a vortex of violent Invisible Air towards her target. Feeling it connect with something, she heard no cry of pain but a deafening scream of a language from far-away in the east. Her eyes widened as she felt the air ripple, a cloth maneuver and the sound of a mouth widening as it approached her. Swinging her blade, she felt her weapon clang against it while another hand grabbed a hold of her scalp, yanking her neck aside as hot breath lapped against her skin and a mouth hungrily aimed to claim purchase to her neck.

A faint whistling was heard, like that of an insect from far away just barely out of hearing. Accelerating faster than either Servant could comprehend, without the aid of sight, they'd never see where it was just until a defining snap was heard and a splash of blood splattered. Sprung backward from the recoil of the singing metal that narrowly avoided her vulnerable neck, Saber felt the weight of her opponent thrust backwards, hurled with a spiraling spin as the smell and feeling of ichor that marked her trailed all the way into the alley spiked up victim with a sickening thud.

All at once, the lights of the street flickered back on and the environment returned to being illuminated by the night's starlight from overhead.

Saber saw what Shirou and Rin noticed just nearby them. The gored body, spiked up for all to see, was impaled by an exquisite looking rapier looking arrow, having penetrated through Assassin's open mouth and sticking him into the elevated, bloodied chest of its former master. Despite the obvious injury, it squirmed and gurgled in a growling fit, unable to escape thanks to the weapon's embedding into the many stakes crisscrossing its ex-master's cadaver. It was a sickening sight, but satisfactory to them all that the threat was dealt with in that moment.

"You should be thankful we were close enough to notice," Illya finally spoke out, her violet-furred form peeking around the corner with a slow taunting walk, a smile present for them to see. Her scarlet eyes flashed towards Shirou condescendingly as she arched her head to the side, revealing a distant crimson dot that hopped from its perch and landed with a knee-bent thud beside her. "Thanks to my insurance I planted earlier before we separated, I was able to pinpoint all three of you and where Assassin was likely to strike, even behind his Presence Concealment."

Without even a breath to ask, Shirou felt something inside his coat crawl up. With trepidation the red-head saw a spider of finely woven, glowing threads crawled up his jacket and onto his shoulder, with a similar thing happening to Rin and Saber herself, surprising the latter two especially. Disassembling into threads, she gestured to have them dance around in near transparency before they returned to being invisible around her proximity.

"My Familiar Magic is second to none," She boasted in a flat, matter-of-fact tone as she dryly stared at them haughtily. "They're near undetectable, even to Servants who aren't aware of them. Unless they charge Mana remotely, they won't even register their Prana outwardly."

"And you didn't mention that you _bugged_ us, why?" Rin asked, somehow beating Shirou to the punch with questioning such an obvious act of subterfuge.

"I didn't feel it necessary," The Einzbernz replied simply.

"I think it's plenty necessary!"

"Uh," Shirou averted from himself adding fuel to the fire as he saw Assassin's struggling form still clawing at its blood spewing mouth to rid itself of its burden. "It's still alive, guys!"

"Not for long," Archer spoke lowly in a swift stride, employing Conjuration to materialize a set of Black Keys in between each set of knuckles. Six in total, Archer tossed them with overlapping arcs of his arms, allowing them to embed themselves into the flesh of the pinned Servant, setting it ablaze in a vibrant blue fire. Howling aloud with renewed agony, it'd begin to disintegrate, the body transforming into ash as its cloak returned to Mana whence it came along with the sword holding it in place.

Left to stare at its remains, they'd take in the damning conclusion of contenders in this war and witness the first true losers in this ordeal. Not even Illya had a thing to say as the blue flames did nothing to stop the visualization of the fire that would erupt from her gut, at night. The lumps within bursting asudner her mortal coil and out from her broken, over abundant self, would be the grail itself ready for use.

In her hazy mindset, she had a dawning clarity that made her open her eyes with something off about this passing of Assassin. She should have felt something metaphysical transpire within her body, as a conduit for the Holy Grail that she was. A flawless vessel in every way. So why wasn't she receiving the whole that presided once in the Servant?

"Master!" EMIYA bellowed, looking up at a violet-hooded form that was staring at them from the roof of the alley's left building top.

"I didn't even sense its presence!" Saber intoned, now brandishing her weapon once again in readiness.

"Caster!" Rin cried out, calling upon the teal-trimmed form to manifest beside her at once. Without waiting for anyone's approval, she gestured, calling forth the blood within their environment -even off their clothes and Saber's skin- into a cyclone of Mana fueled force. Thrashing the building's top story without mercy, the falling debris turned to powder by the violet-hooded form dangled in midair like a doll; before it separated into crimson ribbons and scattered into the wind.

"Dammit!" Archer growled out. "It got away!"

"What was that?" Illya asked with irritation.

"It certainly didn't act human," Rin noted with a sneer, her Servant lowering its hand and looking with its concealed face at her. Shaking her head, she replied to unheard words. "No, it wasn't your fault. I'm not sure any of us could stop it from leaving even if we tried."

"Speak for yourself," The white-haired Counter Guardian sneered under his breath.

"Are you alright, Shirou?" Saber asked, returning to his side. She caught him staring in place, his eyes rooted in the spot the figure was before it disappeared entirely. He was pale, far more than even seeing the body or what happened to Shinji that night. Grasping his shoulder, she shook him, only bringing him out to look hauntingly at her and bringing everyone's eyes aimed to him.

"S-Sakura," He began to choke out, his eyes beginning to ebb tears as he looked horrified at them all. "That was...Sakura!"

* * *

 **A/N:** I am Evil. I know this. Because I wrote this Chapter in a way to not only sow dread but leave you all hanging in suspense. From the beginning I wrote this intending to call back to the night that Berserker was summoned so you could all get that Heaven's Feel perspective in its entirety but from HIS POV. And if you pay attention, the incantation refers to him as "Monster" and "Lord", meaning he utilizes the maximum efficiency as Vlad Tepes of Wallachia and Count Dracula, the Monster from the Book. So in this way, he's operating in the loosest of terms a Dual-Class Servant without it being completely succinct. It's why he operates with clarity and mind despite having a high level of Madness Enhancement because he accepts his Vampire side despite hating it and also has an infernal hatred towards a lot of things that didn't lead him to true insanity in either life, per say.

It was also enjoyable making Shinji virtually piss himself, the worm got what he deserved.

And with the infighting beginning between Illya and Shirou, they have another threat beyond a Vampire-turned-Assassin; but a myserious figure who appears to have been Sakura!

I look forward to your eventual Reviews. See you all on the next update!


	7. Making Memories

Illyasviel Von Einzbernz had slept restlessly that night.

Upon their dispatching of Assassin -whom was turned into a Vampire thanks to Berserker- and the mysterious figure Shirou claimed was Sakura, they all thought it was best to return home for the night. He was practically inconsolable at the implications of whatever that silhouette's actions or its presence had at the time. She saw this state of being for him as he begged to look for her, until he collapsed from exhaustion; combined with the pain of burning his body through a Magic Circuit overload, Saber was obligated to bring him back home.

Rin voted on staying to at least observe a few hours longer while Illya and Archer guarded the pair. She looked at the far-gone look on his face as his pale skin contrasted with the dimmed light in his eyes. She didn't pity this man, the offspring of the traitor who left her alone in the cold for ages and took her mother's life in vain. The dream of his return was replaced of one of agony and being suffused as being the arbiter of the coming war in the future.

So when she retired for the night, she had expected to hear something, anything from her Servant. But instead, he just volunteered to keep watch that night and let Saber rest as well since he didn't expend much Mana from their search or fight. Sighing, she relented and dressed in her kimono, sleeping in the guest room as she's always done.

Tossing and turning, her body recoiled and shook as she'd try her hardest to sleep, to descend back into those haunting nightmares and just embrace the futility. But now, since her function as a vessel had failed unthinkably, she was now thinking of things to blame or people that were responsible. In her haze of fitful agony, her mind clouded and she suddenly saw a sky above her bed; her sheets replaced by layers of ashen sand.

" **I Am The Bone Of My Sword.** "

The words rang in the hallowed world, and she leaned upright, wafting grains flowing off her now immaculate white dress as she saw a scene straight out of a Medieval time. There stood EMIYA, chained and restrained, head lowered down as a man in priestly robes shouted at him in condemnation while a crowd of people decried him in words she didn't understand but fathomed their intent. Led up a trail of wooden stairs above the macabre field of sand, a noose was fastened over his neck, his eyes still looking down as his desert garb whipped around his black body armor.

A pull of a lever and his body went taut. Lifeless before even the rope cinched around his flesh. Half-lidded and mouth partially agape as if to ask, "Why?"

" **Steel Is My Body, And Fire Is My Blood.** "

A hot wind rushes from behind her, making her recoil as her hair rolls with it and blinds her to the scene before her gaze. Looking towards the source of the wind, she beheld with wide rubies the sight of him plunging sword after sword into the ground. His back was stuck with similar weapons, flowing blood fell freely from a beige coat and the black armored man looked over the horizon with an unseen look of melancholy. Robotically, he continued to plant the weapons less like seeds to sprout but more like gravestones as he filled the land like a broad, nameless cemetery.

As it continued to fill, familiar designs of the swords she saw involved the Black Keys she saw him use. The rapier that was ornate and beautiful in craft, that had to have been a part of 15th Century work with its grip once beheld by a decorated hero of its time. Another was a spear of pure red, easily identifiable as Lancer's Noble Phantasm with all of the visual splendor it bestowed to user and enemy alike. More and more weapons spread out she didn't recognize and a dawning clarity was given to her that he had seen each one at one point in his life.

Just how long of a life has he lived to see so many iconic weapons?

" **I Have Created Over A Thousand Blades.** "

She heard him say in the hall, giving her the impression that each of these imitations were almost like decorated homages to the lives of hundreds if not thousands of Heroic Spirits beyond her scope of seeing or ever to see. It was like a beautiful art gallery, but held in a macabre emptiness like an attic, never to be seen or touched by anyone but its creator. Looking up at the sky, she saw nothing but an endless black, orange veil of the Sun above, the sound of giant gears always clinking around her as the machine of his soul continued onward without halting its ceaseless journey.

Why do it?

" **Unknown To Death, Nor Known To Life.** "

As if to cement the futility of it all, she began to see him in various points of his own life. Amidst a rubble torn city of make she didn't recognize, soldiers wearing armor of incredible make and sophistication wielded weapons far more advanced than that of this era. Letting loose rounds that lit up in a stream of fire, melting through steel like cardboard and glassing the earth on contact, they were firing at what was an unknown wraith of momentum.

Reloading, one of them had a notched bolt of black sink into his neck, soon lighting up in a vibrant glow of crimson that made the others scream before it exploded in a violent fireball. Amidst the carnage of their remains stepped through the black body-armored man, wrapped with the beige cloak and his tell-tale armor. With a black bow in one finger-less gloved hand, the other grabbed a hold of his collar as he looked around, his eyes looking for more nameless enemies among this desolate war that saw no end to it.

" **Have Withstood Pain To Create Infinite Weapons.** "

Suddenly he was cut by a broadsword by a shining knight, bringing the scene from the bleak inevitable future to a distant past of feudalism and ardor. Summoning an identical weapon to the knight's, he parried it and drew blood in a brilliant arc. Shot in the back by an archer of eastern orientation, he'd throw the sword he was holding and ignore the bolt entirely. A viking drove an ax into his shoulder, bringing him to one knee, urging him to manifest one to cut his belly open, butt his head up into his face and proceed to smash the ax repeatedly into his face.

Blood splattered over his face, the gore of his own body mixed readily within those he slew, creating a visual spectacle of pure pain. Delivering it to his enemies while receiving it in kind, the aimless warrior continued to fight enemies on all sides of all times and places without a real purpose to her wide ruby orbs. Why did he keep going on? Was he really a victor in any of these battles? Who was Archer?

" **Yet, These Hands Will Not Hold Anything.** "

For whatever reason, Illya felt herself hurt inside. Looking onward, the painful scenery had blew away with the rusty, ash filled sand that covered this familiar world. The Reality Marble was also being faced by him, now donned in his familiar red fabric overlaid with his black body armor. He was looking up as much as he was staring forward, wistfully or solemnly, she couldn't tell. The melancholy hung in the air as the constant cranking of gears filled the world, occasional lightning of scarlet crackling ominously in the rust and ash filled sky of orange-black.

" **So As I Pray, Unlimited Blade Works!** "

It was as she heard those last words, Illya awakened with a start; with tears streaming down her face.

* * *

"Ah, good morning, Illya!" A familiar voice was heard, though it wasn't one she anticipated. As she was still dressed in her light blue kimono, the white haired girl shuffled her feet in to see it wasn't Shirou but Archer himself. Humorously, he was wearing an apron around his waist while in the midst of doing things she was expecting the red-head to do. Furrowing her brows, she deviated her approach to the table and looked straight at the stove he cut vegetables and placed into the stew of the pot; stirring with one hand and expertly assorting the toppings with the other. Looking up at him, he simply opened one eye to dryly look down at her. "I said, good morning, Master."

"You never call me Illya," She pointed out.

"Are you mad?" He asked in a curious tone.

"No, just surprised," She said matter-of-fact.

"Well, given our resident cook decided to sleep in, I took over. Doing it for him will spare us of a particular nagging landlord's daughter why Shirou didn't make food for everyone," He explained, nodding to the early Sun's luminous rays petering through the estate's windows. Indeed while they did set out late in the night, it was still a full night's rest by the time they got back. Shirou was an early riser from what she knew, so this was unusual behavior for him; something she found refreshing, for a change even if it was a setback in usual ordeals.

Taking a deliberate dip of her finger into the soup, she retracted it when it felt hot and Archer shook his head in a tsk-tsk with his tongue. Regardless, she tasted what she got on, and found herself blinking in surprise. Retracting the slightly burned digit, she mouthed with her lips, "This is good."

"I'm not a perfect match, but I think I can make anything that boy can whip up," He boasted with a slight grin, scooping up the soup and placing it into a bowl for her to take, winking at her. "Just don't make it a habit."

"Oh I'm going to enjoy making you my cook!" She gleefully proclaimed.

"Now what did I just say-!" He began to shout, but only got her back as she sauntered happily to the table with a hum of delight. Shaking his head, he managed to scoop up a helping for the inevitable arrival of Taiga, walking over to place it by her assumed side of the table and then doing the same for the others: Saber and Shirou respectively.

Taking time to just observe Illya eating, the Servant stood by admiring his handiwork, even if it was on a menial task such as preparing food. Checking the time, he knew there'd at least enough time if he could check on the boy. The last thing they needed was a domestic upset because their borderline neurotic food leech was upset because the man suffered trauma from the night prior on something he saw that he confused for Sakura.

" _If it was her, then this means a potentially terrible outcome is about to transpire_ ," EMIYA thought as he turned on his heel, walking a few feet out to the courtyard sliding door. Seeing that his Master was occupied by good food, he took his time walking casually in his once former home.

The air was crisp but pleasant, the chill bringing a bristling sensation against his tanned skin and the breeze only mildly ruffling his scalp down to the hem of his cloak's waist down past the heels. It was in this calm walk he took that he contemplated exactly the mindset of his current master's methodology. It was fine when it was through the course of months of building a false sense of peace for the boy, he understood the means and why; but now, when they were depending on a fragile truce when Saber and Caster is involved?

" _I may need to put my foot down if she keeps getting out of hand,_ " He intoned begrudgingly, not liking the idea of keeping his naive counterpart from getting the comeuppance he deserved.

Approaching the slide door, he pulled it back without ceremony and found himself pulling back a step at the sight he beheld.

Assuredly, given the state of Shirou Emiya's emotions and pain filled body, he was in no position to sleep properly. But here he was, sleeping with a quilt wrapped neatly around his frame while his head was propped up on the base blue fabric of Saber's lap. There, the blonde woman had managed to sleep upright, her mouth open and her hands resting in a tender hold on his scalp. The scene was a serene one that caused EMIYA to recall the brief time he had once spent with the Artoria before he became a Servant.

Then, he remembered that the food he made was going to get cold and his appreciation of the moment went just as quickly.

Clapping his hands, he got Saber's ahoge to spike upward and her eyes shoot open with an adorable squeak coming out of her startled voice. Shirou, on the other hand, stirred in place and nestled into the Heroic Spirit's lap, rubbing his face into the fabric covered legs and enjoying the rub of her hands on his hair. The sight made Saber blush in place with widened eyes, exchanging a look of alarm at being found this way by a wryly cocked pair of brows from Archer.

"Breakfast is ready," He said bluntly, rolling his eyes as he turned to walk out of the partially lit room and leave the Servant to burn with embarrassment. "No need to thank me for the work he's supposed to do."

"I-! You-!" She attempted to call after him, only to fall silent as the red-head finally awakened and realized his own posture.

Archer sighed as he heard a cascade of crashing and comedic cries of alarm shared by both. Even if it was for a moment, a sense of normalcy returned back to the routine for that pair, and he can feel satisfied that he made an effort to knit it back in place.

Unfortunately for him, he heard a familiar motor revving up in the distance from the countless times he busied himself perching on the Emiya Estate's rooftops. Taking a brief acrobatic step up onto the courtyard ground, he leaped up and over to see it was indeed Taiga, pulling into the driveway. More suspiciously, she had someone vaguely familiar hitching a ride on the back of her moped; one with brown hair and striking hazel eyes.

Looking down at himself, he saw he was still wearing the apron and looked twice back and forth to the pair that were talking to each other with amiable expressions of early morning delight.

"Shit!" He swore, letting gravity take hold of himself and descend back to the courtyard ground. Knowing he'd have to make this fast, EMIYA walked quickly with his arms kept at his sides, comically looking like a sped-up toy soldier up to the bedroom door he left open. There he saw Saber had convinced him to change clothes into something more presentable; that being a long-sleeved shirt of blue with a white front and back, down to a pair blue jeans.

"Archer?" Shirou piped up, Saber looking over her shoulder curiously at his expression crossing between anger and humiliation of showing off his nervousness.

Without any say-so, he pulled off the apron and tossed it straight into Shirou's face, causing him to nearly topple over with surprise.

"PUAH!" He breathed out, exclaiming as he held it up with a confused glance at the tanned older counterpart. "What? You want me to cook?"

"Already done. That's not the problem-"

"Wait," Saber interrupted with a raised hand, now staring at him with near disbelief. "You can cook?"

"Not the point, Saber!" He retorted gutturally, trying to hush his voice as he inclined his head over his shoulder to the open doorway. "Taiga's here! And she brought someone you know from school too!"

" _Someone from school?_ " Shirou thought, briefly wondering if Sakura was finally coming around after being gone so long. Last night's trauma that was subdued thanks to his manner of awakening got him to make a face that told Archer that he was thinking of someone in particular.

Shaking his head, the silver-haired man explained with a wave of his hands, "She's a brunette, at about five foot three inches, golden-brown eyes-"

"Wait, you mean Aya-"

Suddenly things clicked in a new perspective. The day before was such a relaxing one that didn't have much in terms of substance until the horrible night encounter. Other than meeting the colorful pair in that hallway, he had suggested on an outing with a very special friend of his that he wondered if he harbored feelings for. Not putting in an exact plan behind simply, 'Make a Day out of this,' or 'Wing it," now made him nervously scramble for the apron to be placed over his shoulders.

"Saber, remember your background?" He hurriedly asked as Archer sighed with relief.

"Yes," She answered now more naturally. "I'm a friend of your father, Kiritsugu Emiya, and I'm visiting the family for a short time here."

"Good, easy enough to repeat," The red-head exhaled, now trying to get himself to be steeled enough to see her. Seeing Archer tap his feet and gesture impatiently earned a dagger-filled-glare and a jab at him to leave. Shrugging, EMIYA dematerialized into Mana, allowing him the physical privacy he needed to go and see her.

" _This shouldn't be a big deal,_ " He thought, leaving in a practical pace with Saber not too far behind in her more casual white-sleeved, school-like uniform dress comprised of black stockings, indoor shoes and a blue skirt. Her hair, adorned in its usual embroidered bun, allowed her a youthful yet collected appearance that could be mistaken for being older or younger either way. Taking in her appearance and his own -plus the hastily put on apron- he inhaled and exhaled, pulling the door back as he was ready to face Taiga and Aya-

"There he is!" Ayako Mitsuzuri proclaimed, though in a completely different appearance than Shirou was expecting. She was wearing a pink hoodie over what looked like a simple white tee, light blue denim pants that went to the middle of her shins, revealing her smooth skin to her indoor slippers she had adorned. Smiling brightly with enthusiasm that was just like her, the impromptu nature of this get-together felt almost natural; Shirou couldn't help but keep staring, much to her humor. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

"A-Ah no!" He exclaimed, waving his arms around as he tried to gesture ineptly to hide his bashfully flushed face. Scratching his chin, his eyes slowly made its way from the ceiling back to her face, watching her smile shift from endearment into surprise as she heard his words form. "I-I just...never saw you outside of the school or our Dojo stuff. So, seeing you dressed this way just caught me off guard and I...like it."

"Oh," She awed out, her own cheeks forming a bit of a mark of warmth on the surface. Looking at his clothes, she noticed the apron and couldn't help suppress a snicker as she propped a hand on one hip, gesturing with the other. "Sorry I caught you in the middle of your breakfast, by the way. You didn't mention a time so I was walking by and Miss Fujimura offered me a ride."

"Hey! Anything for my students!" The young woman declared with an exaggerative dancing motion. Looking past Shirou, she saw a patiently smiling Saber observe the spectacle from not far away. Rushing up to her, the surprised Servant reared back and as greeted by her insistently expressive face as she whispered too loudly to not be noticed by anybody present. "Are you doing well, Saber?! Are you sleeping comfortably?! Has Shirou done anything unfavorable to your maiden form?!"

"I am well, Miss Fujimura, thanks for your concern," The blonde replied in kind with a smiling nod. Turning to address Ayako, she bowed politely and greeted her properly with a raised hand. "I am a friend of the family's, visiting for a while. Saber's my name, as you can gather. What's yours?"

"That's nice to hear," Ayako replied, cordially bowing and grasping her hand with a shake -admiring how strong the small hand was despite its petite nature-. "I didn't know Emiya had many friends outside of school. Do you happen to know his father?"

"Yes," She answered with a simple nod. "I knew of his father. I worked with him a long time ago. I feel indebted to pay respects here and be well with those of the Emiya home."

"You sound like you're a lot older than you look," The archer jock joked with a laugh, earning a sheepish chuckle from the Servant for unknown reasons.

Clearing a throat, they all turned to address the silver haired girl who held up a bowl to Shirou, almost demandingly.

"I require seconds," She intoned, her voice inflecting a combination of being a spoiled princess and a greedy child.

"Ah! Right away!" Shirou exclaimed, taking this as a sign to begin serving more food on the table. Shuffling his way into the kitchen, Taiga offered her own seat to Ayako, insisting that she can just grab leftovers later. With Saber joining them, the ginger had familiarized with the recipe Archer used -strangely enough something he had used before, if only a bit more saltier to make up for its bitterness- he finished pouring bowls and began to eat with them while the surrogate guardian began to stir up conversation between the ladies.

"So, Saber," Taiga drummed up, taking her time to eat adjacent to the new house guest. "How long again are you planning to stay?"

"I doubt I'll be here longer than a week or two," Saber addressed confidently. "Once proper respects are made and my visit concludes, I'll return home once my trip here is concluded."

"Where do you live?" Ayako asked with interest.

For a moment, Saber hesitated in her answer. Her mind flashed back to the courtroom of her castle, surrounded her faithful knights who acted as the governing body and lords of the land she helped reign. The rectangular shaped table was imagined to be a round one, and she sat with a heavy furred coat and a heavier crown upon her brow; but unlike this warm environment, it was cold and her heart was heavier still, just as it is now. Obviously descending into a lapsing silence as her eyes dwelled onto her reflection in the soup's rippling surface, she replied with a hint of a smile. "Far away to the West; a place I don't think I can go back to."

Shirou looked concerned at her, but could see her look at him with a dismissive glance. Shrugging, the conversation resumed as Ayako pried more into the mysterious blonde beauty.

"So, do you know anyone special back home?"

"Special?" Saber feigned, not wishing to be this transparent to an obviously baited question.

"You know," Ayako enthused, leaning a bit more back at Taiga before wryly grinning back at her. "A guy back home. Someone you love?"

"My love was to my...work," She phrased specifically, attempting to not show her royal roots to someone uninvolved with the Holy Grail War. Sadly, she shook her head back at her. "I never found anyone of that kind in my life. Currently, it is unclear beyond my devotion to the Emiya family."

"Did you like Kiritsugu?"

The question made Shirou hack up on a mouthful of soup and Illya snort on her own mouthful. Between the pair of exasperated outcries, both Taiga and Ayako looked at the hacking two and traded expressions of perplexity to the reaction. Grabbing napkins clean their faces and themselves, Saber managed to avert everyone's attention on herself from showing a brief moment of incredulous anger.

"No," She replied more simply, hiding the ice in her tone with a convincing mask of sweetness she rehearsed to lie to outsiders. "Kiritsugu was already married so I thought there was no point."

"Wait, he was?!" Shirou balked, turning to look over in surprise while Illya's countenance darkened considerably.

"Ohhhhh!" Ayako squealed -unusually from her classmate's history- as she leaned forward with hands bunched up beneath her face. "What was she like?"

Looking over at Illya's darkened expression, Saber felt a twinge of regret mentioning it. Still, with her behavior as of late, she knew that simply avoiding the issue wasn't going to make things better. From the look of surprise on her master's face, she knew that he also wanted to know what could've been his own adopted mother; or at the very least, what his father's wife was like before he knew him.

"Let's see," Saber mulled over, a subdued smile present as she recalled the time she spent with Irisviel Einzbernz. "She was a very jubilant soul, regardless of her cold upbringing. Given that she was cooped up inside and away from the outside world every sight she took in was a new discovery to her. I'd much like to imagine she was like a child who never had a vacation but now saw the whole tapestry of outside as an adventure in of itself. Her appreciation of the feel of sand beneath her feet in the wafting tide, the smells of a shop's odors of freshly cooked food, the thrill of a moving sports car. She was a very lively and wonderful person."

"Did she love him?" Illya asked, almost without realizing her words left her mouth. Feeling her face burn with shame as eyes all around the table looked at her, she scowled back and looked straightforward to the Servant as she questioned again with indignation. "Well?! Did she?!"

"Yes," Artoria replied, though with a sadder smile, her emerald eyes quivering in place as she answered what the daughter of Iris wanted to hear. "She loved her husband very much and was loyal to him to the very end. You could not ask for a more devoted partner, nor a stronger woman than she was. You'd be proud of her too, I can imagine."

For the briefest of times, the icy shell around her heart had wavered and Illyasviel's eyes watered for a different reason than the dream she awakened from over an hour ago. Even as tears fell down her face, Taiga looked confusedly between the two while Ayako just looked in awe at the expression the white haired girl had before looking to Shirou. He nervously shrugged while she looked at him in a way he knew he'd had explaining to do later.

Then, in an instant, her tears were wiped and she stood up angrily, stomping out of the room and away from the rest of the assembled women and young man. They'd hear an audible door slam, reflexively making Shirou wince at this while everyone turned to look at Saber. She looked somberly back and sighed, taking some time to finish eating her meal as the rest did so in relative silence, allowing the air in the room to settle before further conversation could be had.

All unknown to Illya burying herself into a pillow, screaming into its confines and a wary Archer hearing it from just above the room's roof.

* * *

Quiet.

That was a proper word to emulate the environment that was the chapel's underground that the priest harbored himself inside. Having used this place for remote espionage for the previous war, he was already accustomed to its inner workings back when his father was the Overseer. Switched positions, he now felt more in control than he ever was; no longer a tool but a master of his own destiny and a seeker of his own enjoyment.

Kirei Kotomine was reading through the morning reports on a couch within the church's underground. While the smell of disemboweled bodies not far away would make anyone's senses curdled, he was quite adapted to it after doing so for the past decade. Flipping through the paper, his eyes peered at the text of police reports involving the murders that have only continued to escalate. Humming as he took in the grotesque detail of how a particular man's body was found strewn in mutilation in an alleyway, it was clear that this was the work of a deranged psychopath.

" _That or a very callous Heroic Spirit,_ " Kirei surmised inwardly, taking his time to look at the rest of the reports. Weather appeared to be agreeable until the mid-afternoon when the collection of clouds from the past few days may form a thunderstorm that'd last until Sundown. Traffic was going to be a bit backed up around Miyama Town as Police were beginning to lock certain areas coming and going from there in hopes of cornering a culprit, for what good it'd do. And all of this for his Sunday.

A lazy Sunday off from managing his empty chapel and dissecting bodies in the underground chamber he sat alone in.

"So, this is where I find you," A familiar, haughty voice of sophisticated pride and arrogance dripping with every word etched a familiar chord within the priest's head. Looking up from his newspaper he saw the golden haired man, dressed in his usual sleek, long-sleeved black jacket over a white tee and a pair of designer's jeans with complementary leather boots. Held in his hand what looked like a package of sorts that was delivered through an express service; just one of the reasons for his absence. Raising it upward, he grinned with pearly whites as his crimson eyes gleamed with eagerness. "Come! Put away that media spun garbage and partake in this decadent flavor more worthy of your attention."

"I see you made ample use of my finances for your personal pleasantries, Gilgamesh," He surmised, folding the paper and standing upright within the dimly lit basement. Placing it under one arm, he rose to meet his mutually tall partner and watched him unfasten the string, producing a crinkling of packaging to unveil a very expensive looking bottle of wine. Letting the package fall with a thud, the King of Heroes held it between his fingers and observed it as much as the priest did.

" _1901 Versaille Gorge_ ," The Heroic Spirit read aloud, his eyes looking at it with satisfaction at the crisp condition it was retained in. "As much as I enjoy my own stocks of divine drink, there is something to be said about preserved alcohol of this world from only a hundred years or so of sitting. It has a crude yet sweet taste to it you'd never expect."

"And here I am without cups to enjoy the momentous occasion," Kirei joked dryly with a chuckle.

"Every day lived as you are in my presence is always a gift I only give to those I see who deserve it," He proclaimed without a hint of sarcasm, his smile broadly spent as he put his hand in the middle of space. A golden ripple, as if a magical portal akin to water existed perpendicular to his back, revealed his casual access to his prized possession, the Gate of Babylon. Retrieving a pair of golden goblets, he handed one to Kirei and popped the wine's cork off, pouring it between the two of them as he continued to speak. "It's been ten years since I've been reborn in a living body. For a decade I've been able to pursue the decadent pleasures of this world and subsume myself in all of the luxuries my world has to offer in this current era. While I am dissatisfied with all of the unnecessary existence of so many cretins, I do enjoy the more carnal privileges afforded to these mongrels what never was during my reign as king."

"I too am thankful for the ten years of freedom and complete dominance over my own life that has been awarded to me since that fateful time in the Fourth Holy Grail War," The priest admitted, stirring the goblet full of wine, taking a chance to look at his reflection and smell the richness of this brand of alcohol had before his senses. "Though I am bound to the Angra Mainyu, hence this war's expeditious renewal in such a short time instead of the usual forty years, I am quite pleased of the position I've taken from my late father. In this way, not only can I act at my discretion as an unknown competitor in this ordeal but I can appreciate it from an observer's point of view and really find the struggles these masters have against one another for their own hopeless dreams."

"Hm, indeed," Gil swirled his glass, his eyes staring at the stirring red liquid thoughtfully.

"Something the matter?" Kirei asked with a humored raise of a brow.

"I have noticed the roster of those attending," The golden man replied, still looking into his own reflection as he spoke his mind. "It appears my beautiful Saber has been absconded by quite the curious creature. The son of that man whom you fought to the death all those years ago; Kiritsugu's son."

"Ah," Kirei nodded with affirmation, a twisted smile breaching his face at the thought of the amber eyed, crimson haired student. "He was quite the interesting visitor when I was dealing with the fiery spirited Rin. Curiously enough, it seems he was quite associated with Illyasviel Von Einzbernz; though from her attitude, it seems she's taking advantage of his naivete to further her own agenda. That itself has made me quite curious."

"That doll is manipulating the mongrel whose in possession of my Saber? That is quite the curious predicament indeed, Kirei!" Gil laughed in exclamation, brushing his golden tresses back over his scalp. "Though, if I feel in the mood for it, I may want to remove him from my path entirely so that I can claim her for myself. The only problem is stability, in that she needs the Mana to be sustained. If only I could be a Master in that fool's stead, then she'd have no choice but kneel in submission to my superiority!"

"Blame the Grail, Gilgamesh," The dark haired priest shrugged with a crooked smile. "Perhaps it sought to test the mettle of those whose wishes it wants to will into existence. Or maybe it believes that you were already blessed enough with a living body."

"Hmph! What a petulant artifact!" Gilgamesh dismissed with a sharp turn of his head, nose pointing upwards in disgust. "I do intend to do as I wish, and I shall have my fun. Once I see my chance opportunity, I shall swoop in and take from them what is mine by right; instead of encouraging their sick delusion that they could obtain what is in my beloved garden that is this planet."

"As long as you don't bring the higher authorities upon my head, do as you wish, King of Heroes," Raising his goblet to him, he grinned wryly as he finished speaking. "I will do the same so no ill can befall you from my own hands."

"See to it that it doesn't," He scoffed with a chuckle, humorously clacking the rim of his goblet with Kirei's borrowed one, both beginning to savor the taste of the imported wine. Delectable bitterness staved by the inherent fruit's sweetness and the winery's own trade secrets burrowed into their taste buds, leaving an intriguing aftertaste beyond the initial explosion of flavor. Once they removed their lips from the goblets, the priest looked on with satisfaction and the golden man twisted his lips and scowled pensively.

"Is it missing something?" Kirei guessed correctly, seeing the Sun haired man nod.

Without speaking, he turned to the more recently prepared bodies the priest had slumped over surgical tables within the light-less archway in the corridor. Plunging his hand into the incision's fold, he ripped out a small heart, no bigger than apple. Fastened with particular stitches and threaded in a manner of ritualistic importance, the golden man raised it over his goblet and squeezed it gently. A downpour of crimson flowed from the tampered tissue, releasing a glittering shine to it in the darkness that gave off its magical properties as it sunk into his goblet's half empty rim.

Filled to completion, Gilgamesh tossed aside the heart and raised the drink to his nose, allowing him to bask in its scent. Tilting it back, he began to drink, his throat's muscles audible in the dark as he ingested the tainted mixture of wine and blood. The taste of bittersweet mixed with the copper and the buzz of something more mystical involved took root into his senses, making the reincarnated spirit feel something he didn't before.

"Is it to your liking?" The priest asked with a teeth bared grin.

Releasing the goblet from his mouth, Gilgamesh let a rivulet of blood stained wine leak from the corner of his mouth and drip off his chin to the ground below, next to where the small body lied. Licking his chops, the pair of predatory red eyes turned to gleam back at Kirei with a perverse, carnal thrill that had took hold of him from partaking in this forbidden elixir, "It was as it should be; completely full of my carnal delight!"

* * *

Ayako Mitsuzuri knew that today may have been an off day, but she was determined to make the most of it. From the time she happened to make an impulsive jog in the early morning to where Shirou lived, being picked up by Taiga and meeting his mysterious house guest number two, there was a tension in the air she couldn't place what behind the curtain drama was going on. Saber was definitely an odd name, even for a foreigner, and Illya herself seemed like she was having trouble coping with her own issues involving her family; Shirou looked helpless, as something she knew to get him out of the house to give him some fresh air.

It turned out to be the best for both of them. After he got a change of clothes -changing into a black long-sleeved jacket with white overlays, a pair of jeans and his shoes- they both left the Estate with Taiga's blessing and a concerned look from Saber. A short walk later led them to the next step and got onto a transport to the desired destination.

Taking a bus to Shinto, Shirou had remained a bit quiet and only offered minimum responses. Looking out the window, she saw that the passing scenery shifted the familiar traditional buildings of Miyama Town and encroached over the course of traffic lights down more newer streets to the glistening infrastructure of the 'pompous district' as Rin coined it. While she had rare instances that she came to this part of town -either with Rin during the holidays, or the one time with her father- this was a nice occasion. She had gift cards to spend and money in her pocket to make a day out of it.

Something she was determined to give to a pondering Shirou.

"Hey," She piped up, finally breaking the tension by finger flicking the side of his head. Seeing him blink and rub his temple, he looked at her incredulously before recoiling as she invaded his personal space with her face; glaring back at him. "I said 'Hey', Shirou. Try to act a bit more excited when you're going out on a date, will ya?"

"Ah! S-Sorry, Mitsuzuri-!"

"Just Ayako, please," She insisted, shaking her head with a teasing grin. "We're not at school so there's no need to be so formal with me. After all, we have known each other awhile since the Archery Club, right?"

"I suppose you're right," He let out a belabored sigh, the redhead visibly uncoiling the inner stress he had pent up. Nodding with closed eyes, he affirmed without turning his head. "Yeah, you're right. I should just have a good time."

"That's the spirit!" Ayako giggled with a fist pump. "Let's scope out all the outrageous priced goods and eat expensive food!"

"Yes!" Shirou turned with a broad grin on his face. "All on your bill too-ow!"

"Don't say it like that, dolt!" The brunette hissed out, palm-thrusting into his turned forehead with a loud smack. Crossing her arms, she leaned onto the bus window, her head tilting against the glass while the ginger winced at the red mark she left on his skin. "It's not like I can go there anytime I want like Miss Rich Skirt."

"Wha-? You mean Tohsaka?" Shirou addressed with confusion, still rubbing his head with distress.

"Don't get me wrong," Ayako smiled halfheartedly, staring at his reflection in the glass as she explained. "I love my friend, but her wealth allows her a certain privilege I don't possess. My family works hard, and I've adopted that kind of mentality from them. I'd never say I'm poor but I'd be lying to say I'm very well off."

Shirou absorbed this information in with a renewed sense of clarity. Shinto was an artificially built district, a place that was meant to offer something to the rich and the tourists. While the mall was a means of getting Fuyuki citizens to mitigate and spend things it was by no means a place to feel at home unless you were working in the district itself. He knew all about what it was like to pinch savings and use the allowance monitored by Taiga, as part of the inheritance his father left behind from his ambiguous work as a Mage from the past.

"That said, don't misunderstand if I do this flippantly, Shirou," Ayako leaned back upright, though this time looked a bit bashful. It was a rarity for Shirou, whom saw the upbeat and very bombastic athlete as someone to look up to and not one to cross. Vulnerable was the last word he'd use to classify her so carelessly. She twirled her fingers in her lap, her face heated up and her eyes glistened in the near-noon rays spraying into bus window. A halo cast over her brown hair as she turned to look at him with a rosy smile and glowing eyes of amber, declaring boldly. "I only do this for special occasions. Paying you back...no...spending the day with you, is what I'd consider a time worth celebrating. Don't you think?"

Shirou himself had never really got this vision of being enraptured by someone's smile like this before. He felt his heart beat quickly in his chest, filling it with warmth while his stomach formed flutters and knots wind within. His own face felt hot and sweat lingered behind his scalp down his neck. As his own hazel eyes turned away, he swallowed the lump in his throat and faked a cough to restore his dignity.

"Y-Yeah," He attempted to agree without losing composure, turning to smile back at her with a white grin. "I'm looking forward to spending time with you, Ayako!"

For awhile, it was just that moment that felt special for the two. It wasn't anything truly momentous from an outsider's perspective. The admittance of delight in having an activity from one to another may be a casual conversation. Just one of many occurrences that could transpire in the wake of other normal lives that continued to cycle in redundancy.

But to someone not so normal, like Shirou Emiya, and to someone not ordinary by her peers, like Ayako Mitsuzuri, this felt like a memorable instant that was captured in their hearts and minds. A shared smile, locked eyes, and release of emotions through expressions. The light of the Sun and the smell of perfume to the aroma of cleaned clothes. Every detail was etched into their memories, no matter how long or short they'd continue, into the future to come.

The one thing that dawned upon the brunette, as she smiled, was the special quality of Shirou's smile; or at least, the uniqueness of _this_ smile compared to the ones she's seen before.

" _Why does this smile seem more_ real _than every time before?_ " She wondered as the moment lingered on for the both of them.

* * *

 **A/N:** Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

I wondered if this Chapter needed to be longer, but after a bit of consideration, this seemed like the proper length. The development here for characters was more important, especially since a lot of you wanted to see more Archer and Illya. With some nice coupling time for Shirou and Ayako at the end, highlighting the next chapter as the alleged time of the date, I'm happy to endear more time to these beloved characters. Even Saber got some good character interaction with Illya and Ayako, surprisingly.

Then there's Kirei and Gil. They're just...so damn evil. I love it! The fact they can act like roomies after a decade of spending time together, carving up orphans and drinking blood-soaked wine like it's just another anniversary. Couples wish they got along together as much as Golden Boy and Fake Priest do, haha!

Look forward to the upcoming chapters cause they are going to be a DOOZY with what I got planned. Stay tuned for the next update!


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